Young Justice: New Hopes
by Rebel-Renegade-Fett
Summary: Ever wondered how the team would cope with another member. Also that said member is extremely cheeky and wisecracking. Say hello to Kyle Rayner, the newest member of Young Justice. Including: Wally West, Artemis, Superboy, Robin, any many more. PLEASE read, REVIEW and ENJOY.
1. Intro

Lately I found out that I have been over extending my attention, so if you read any of my other books (Bring me the Moon and Star Wars) then they will be getting lower priority as I am losing motivation for them. However Percy Jackson will continue for now. This is my version of Young Justice set in Season 1, with Kid Flash, Artemis, Miss Martian, Superboy, Aqualad and Robin.

* * *

 _ **1\. A New Member**_

A long time ago I would have laughed in your face if you told me I was a Green Lantern. All things considered, I probrably still would. If you told me that i'm a Green Lantern and have to go to school, then I have no idea how to respond. _Since when do heroes go to school anyway? I can definitely see Batman in his suit sitting here like an idiot... not._ Anyways here I am and I have no idea what's going on. "Excuse me?" the teacher calls for my attention and I don't dissapoint.

"hmmm" I respond, in what is the considered the worldwide symbol for "hello, I wasn't listening".

"Tell me Mr..." she pauses to wait for an answer.

"Rayner. Kyle Rayner." I purposely do my best Sean Connery impression. She isn't impressed by the slightest.

"Well Kyle, tell me what is Shakespeare's moral story in Macbeth?." she puts her hands on her thin hips, looking like more of a teenager than us.

"Not to be a douche-bag and kill your friends." I snicker, provoking a few more from my classmates, exactly the reaction I wanted. Suddenly the familiar burst of knowledge passes into my mind, from that damned ring. "Or... that greed and ambition can corrupt even the most honourable of men, we should always attempt to overcome our averice and not succumb to it." I blurt out unwillingly. Coupled by a few half-shouts of "Nerd" from the back of the class. This ring is ruining everything, I wasn't even selected for it. Some guy came upto me and said "You will have to do." really, i'm not joking. It's lame that I will "have to do" as a Rookie Lantern, but at least I was put into this new program for sidekicks.

Relief poured over my body as the bell went off to signal the next lesson. After traversing the highly dangerous battlefield known as the Happy Harbour School corridors, I only just make it to my next exhausting lesson: History. _It's so boring, I will literally sit a room with Batman all day._ Taking a seat or rather melting into the seat I pull out my books and ready myself for depression. "Dude that's so cool! Where did you get that? It looks sooo real." a creepy fanboy grabs my hand to inspect my ring, in an instant I whipped my hand back and came up with a valid reason.

"uhh... I got it on eBay. Yeah eBay. It was really cheap if you ask me and so not real, I mean do you think I would be here if I was a Lantern?" I force an akward laugh at the end and he seems to buy it.

"You a new guy, huh?" he extends his hand out and I reluctantly shake it.

"Yep that's me. Kyle, the good ol' boring and totally not a Lantern teenager. How did you know?" I said to quickly distract him from my obvious nervousness.

"I haven't seen you around. I'm Marvin by the way." he replaces his hand onto his desk and leans back. "Those guys better be at lunch next, I hate being on my own. What do you say, wanna hang out with me bro." _No!._

"Sure why not... bro." against my entire body screaming to yell no, I weirdly agree.

"Cool, just like the Freeze man." he pushes himself further back and I resist the temptation to push this wannabe over.

"Freeze?" this guy had better not just called me a villian.

"Oh yeah, like Mr. Freeze cool. Always cool, never warm." he theatrically fans his head with his book whilst talking, however I still have no idea what he is on about and decide to drop it.

* * *

( _ **Later on at the benches next to the football stadium...**_ )

"Where are you from?" my new "friend" asked me and deep down i'm thankful that he stopped talking about his card collection. Seriously I love heroes, but that's just going too far.

"All over the place. I... fly around a lot." I tentatively suggest, subtely hinting who I am, as I want to see if he can take a hint.

"I've always wanted to fly, like Superman or Wonder Woman. That would be a dream come true." he sighs deeply.

"What about the Green Lanterns, they can fly and travel in space." I interject as I am slightly infuriated he could forget us so easily.

"They aren't as cool as the others, you have a magical ring so what? Superman gets powered by the sun and can shoot lasers out of his eyes." he puts his fingers on his temples, as though trying to simulate Superman using his eye thingy.

"They aren't magical!." I burst out.

"Tell me. What do you know about the Lanterns?" he questions me using a batman voice, but he quickly returns to his normal voice. For a moment I wanted to reveal myself to this jack-ass, however Hal would kill me and so for once I keep my mouth shut. "Ha! Exactly!" he jeers as though he just won the biggest arguement on Earth.

"Marvin! Are you tormenting new kids again?" A black haired girl appears out of the blue and points at Marvin, who hastily scurries off.

"Don't worry about him. He loves to show off his obsession with heroes." he approaches me, I now see she is wearing a black and yellow jumper.

"It's okay. Just tell him that the Lantern rings aren't magical." I smile in a trademark Kyle way, for a moment she looks confused but shakes it off soon after. It looks like she hears this stuff everyday.

"Will do. I have cheerleader practise now, but you can stay and watch in the stands. Your choice." after that she skips away and throws down a bag down in the pitch and commences with eye opening stretches. _Oh... i'm so watching this._ Clambering up a few benches I flop down in the middle of the stands and play around with my ring.

"You're in my seat." a deep and aggressive voice growls from behind me. Slowly I shuffle down to the edge of the bench and a massive guy sits where I was parked down. He notices me looking and glares threatening at me. "What are you looking at?" to which I pretend that I was watched the practice. _Damn. Somebody got up on the wrong side of his steroids._ It was then I noticed another cheerleader had joined the group. My first impression was pretty hot and thought it would be a great conversation starter for Mr. Testosterone over there.

"Pretty cute huh?" I nudge closer to El Macho Man.

"You are just begging for a beating, aren't you? Word of advice: Leave. Me. Alone." he barks, this time with added malice.

"Or what? You go all big, green and angry on me." I provoke him further, there is something about him that makes this a lot funnier.

"Whatever." the big man finally resigns to my pushing, although I still remain a sizable distance away from him. After sitting in complete silence for the next hour practice ends and the attractive girl comes up to the guy sat next to me, veins still popping from his neck. As soon as she reaches us she turns or rather spins to me.

"Welcome to the team." she claps her hands together.

"You've got to be kidding me, no way this is the new guy. He's practially Wally!." he stands up in disbelief, when the girl gives him a stern look he stomps off like a child.

"Can someone tell me what the Guardians is going on?" I askthe joyful looking girl.

"Well Kyle, you are now apart of our team. I can't wait to show you the others, I think you will like Wally." she cheesily smiles, a part of me thinks there is more to this girl than meets the eye.

"I knew I was going into a program for teenagers, but... wait... how do you know my name? " I raise an eyebrow and she blushes in what I guess is guilt.

"I looked into your mind, might I say you was hard to break into." she casually states like she totally just didn't violate my privacy. Next she leans in cups her hands over my right ear. "I'm Miss Martian." she whispers and then steps back to a standing position. _That's so awesome. My ring told me everything about the Martians, they are totally a cool race compared to the 639 million, five hundred thousand and forty two others in the universe._ "hey, I think it's time to go to Mount Justice. The teleporter is just next to school."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I prefer to fly." I give a quick smirk before willing my Green Lantern uniform into existance. Now it's her turn to look in awe.

"Did you just do that with your thoughts?" she mumbles, still awestruck by the bright green pulsating around my body.

"No. Pure Willpower baby!." I give a quick salute before launching into the air and zoom off, the relaxing gushes of wind rolling over my face.

 _Wait? Where am I going again?_

* * *

(A/N) Sorry for the short part as I want you guys to tell me in your reviews how lengthy you want the chapters. It's all upto to you. So please REVIEW and SHARE.

This is Kyle Rayner signing out.


	2. Keep on going

(A/N) The next part is here and guessing by the fact there were no complaints, I assume the first part went well. Fingers crossed. Feel free to leave a Review and favourite/ follow and if you like it please can you tell your friends and share the story.

* * *

 _ **2) Keep on going... (3rd September 2010)**_

 _Okay... so maybe I should have taken the teleporter. Guess it's what I get for being a show off._ I think as I turn to face the wrong direction again, I sigh heavily and hover to recover my sense of direction. In the distance I spot an enormous mountain, near to the city. _You've got to be joking. Mount Justice. A dead giveaway, much._ Putting on the speed I soar to the mountain and it mysteriously opens at the side to reveal what looks to be a hanger.

Entering through the opening, I hit the ground to face a group of people staring at me. Instantly I recognise Shazam, Red Tornado and Black Canary. The others I can say I have absolutely no idea who they are. All apart from Mr. Muscle who is glaring at me, it's a cliché, but if looks could kill I would be six feet under. "Is there a reason you entered from the side and not with the others?" Black Canary steps forward with hands on her hips; reminding me of that boring teacher from just hours ago.

"I just... just wanted to fly." I pretend to look guilty, but she didn't buy it, Shazam did though.

"Oh come on Di- Black Canary, he has a point." he cheesily grins at me, before cupping his hands over his mouth and miming "It's cool huh." However, he stops when he sees the warning stare coming from the menacing woman to his right.

"The point is that because you are late, you missed the briefing." she shakes her head in obvious disapproval.

"A mission already?. Cool!. seriousl-"

"If you would have let me finish, I would have told you that since you missed the briefing and they have no time to waste, you WILL be sitting this one out." my jubilation ends there and I unconsciously slump my shoulders. The Justice Leaguers stroll away, Black Canary indifferent, Shazam looking sympathetic and Red Tornado just being like the robot he is.

"It's okay, we need to time to train together before you join the team." A tall boy from the background emerges and speaks in a monotonous tone. "I'm Aqualad." he states and moves back to the group. "This is Kid Flash." he points at a boy in a yellow costume stuffing his face with chocolate.

"Hey man, cool suit." he compliments in between chewing.

"This is Miss Martian or Megan." Aqualad steps up to a relatively familiar face, but just... green.

"Hello Megan!" she slams her head with the palm of her hand. "I completely forgot to ask you if you like cookies?" she explains like it was the most obvious thing in the galaxy, apart from Clark Kent being Superman. I mean are glasses so different from none?.

"Sure." I tentatively approve, half expecting to be bombarded with them.

"This is Robin." Aqualad says as though he completely ignored the weird conversation that just took place, he strides forward to be on the immediate side of what looks like a kid compared to the rest of us.

"So this is the boy wonder? I expected you to be taller. " I genuinely comment, but Kid Flash snorts and gets elbowed by Megan.

"So this is Kyle Rayner? I expected you to be less annoying." he retorts, although the smile makes me assume he is messing with me.

"You're just jealous Robin, he glows green and you have a little cape for a little kid." Kid Flash jokes, earning him another sharp elbow in the ribs.

"Artemis, protégé of Green Arrow." Aqualad continues down the line and only now in the corner of my eye I can see a certain brick-man fuming. _Geez, what's his problem?._ My undivided attention returns to a blonde girl wearing a moderately revealing suit. I can't say I didn't like what I saw, but as Kilowog always said: Chase Villains, not girls, as the Villains don't want to be chased. _He must have had some brutal rejections in his life._ Whereas all the others at least greeted me, she remained rudely silent.

Finally, he stepped up to a heaving hero, still I have no clue what he's mad at. I think he doesn't like being called a steroid user, can't say I blame him. "From what I hear, you have already met Superboy." _Superboy? It seems that Earth's mightiest hero has been busy._

"He seems more like a Super-Ass to me." I blurt out and he bursts out with anger.

"That's it!" he screams. _Oh Dear._

* * *

 ** _A few Hours Later..._**

 _Not to self and all others: Never EVER anger a Kryptonian. It never ends well._ My head stills throbs even with the third pack of freezing cold ice, guess being thrown around the room like a rag doll will do that to you. At least I got a few shots of myself, I managed to construct a baseball bat and slam his carcass into the kitchen. For some reason that made the Martian mad and hurl us both unceremoniously into a wall. Bored with waiting I stand up and ignore the fact my head feels like it's in a washing machine, it takes a few tedious moments, but I steady and walk to training room.

"03, Wonder Woman." _Could this day get any worse?_ The imposing and dominant presence of the Amazonian enters the room and approaches me, I could feel the authority irradiating from her with every stride.

"If you are looking for the team, they went on some covert op. I could inform you when they get back." I brief her, unlike other people I know when to be fun and when to be respectful. This is definitely a time to be a bastion of respect.

"That won't be necessary, as I am looking for you." I resist the temptation to make a comment about that and ultimately cave in. However, I sugarcoat it just a little, hopefully she won't notice.

"Should I be worried or excited?" I vaguely conceal the flirt beneath the context of the situation, as I assume she has a task for me.

"You should be concentrating on fighting for justice instead of flirting with someone eight times your age." she bluntly advises and I mark down the resemblance to Kilowog. "The League... I need someone fast enough to travel to Belgium. Since the Flash and the other Lanterns are all occupied, it falls to you." she hammers down the point it's not optional. _A courier boy? Seriously. And I'm the last choice, a double kill._ She seems to sense my annoyance by my body language, or I hope so, it would be really irritating if she's psychic as well.

"I would be grateful if you delivered this to Hawkgirl in Brussels. It's of the highest importance to the league." she shoves a USB stick into my hand and marches off, leaving me clueless to how long I have to get there.

* * *

 _ **4th September 00:15...**_

Rubbing the tiredness from my eyes I continue the slow cruise over the moonlit skies of France, since she didn't tell me how fast I had to get there, I decided to fly at a steady pace. The bright green aura radiating off my body only makes me more tired if I look at it, it's just so calming. Looking down the view is stunning, from this high I can see: fields of peaceful grass, but look slightly to the right and you see the bright lights of the urban jungle. The spectacular view is coupled by the gentle breeze rolling over my face.

Suddenly the clouds turned dark and thunder and lightening rippled across the sky. The boom of the clap of thunder is nearly enough to deafen me and the flashes of lightening are creeping dangerously close to me. _This isn't natural._ Presumably jinxing my luck I am hit square in the chest by a bolt of lightening and I soar downwards, unable to do anything as my nerves are shocked. For around a minute I continued crashing down to Earth and just as I was about to hit the ground I regained control and willed in a huge bed to fall onto. Once the impact was softened I released it and hit the ground with a thud.

"How the mighty have fallen. Quite literally." A male in an orange cloak towards above me as I lie on the ground.

"The mighty always get back up." I construct rope and wrap it around his feet before he could react and barge him over whilst standing up. I am sent flying onto my back as another bolt strikes me, I am lucky my suit can take a hit like that. Assuming he is going to try to finish me off I hurry up and force a shield over my head, I barely hold it together as another bolt hits my shield.

More and more bolts hit in rapid succession, I takes all my willpower not to break. _You can never defeat a Lantern as long as his will shines bright. Come on Kyle! Let's end this now!._ Using my thoughts I motivate myself on and the familiar feeling of power surges through my body, drawing upon my will to strengthen my construct.

Carefully glancing at my attacker every few strikes, as to not break my concentration. I see that he has retreated a fair length away from my position and is holding up a sort of wand to the sky. _Of course, he's the Weather Wizard. Take away his wand and this will be over._ After waiting for the next salvo to hit I break the construct and fly straight towards the Villain. I dodge and weave to avoid more desperation strikes from him and as I get closer, he stops and points the wand at me.

Unexpectedly a mist forms around me and as I get to the open space where he was, the slimy man is no longer there. Instantly I construct a massive will-powered leaf blower and push away the unnatural mist and I see the cowardly Wizard attempting to flee on top of a tornado. _Oh no you don't._ Using my thoughts I reach out with an arm construct and pull him off the tornado, he screams as he plummets down, but I catch him and carefully drop him to the ground. Before he could stand up I form chains around his body and bend over to catch my breath. _Green Lantern: 1, Bad Guys: 0._

My first courageous triumph was cut short by a ground shaking blow from behind that send me at least 40 yards. Picking myself up I met this new foe head on and I recognise him as Black Adam. Even though I knew I wouldn't stand a chance, I charge him anyway with a large constructed sledgehammer. My hopes were crushed as hr bats away my constructs like flies and uppercuts me with a blow that could stagger Superman. Barely conscious and now lying on the floor in agony, I look up to see my defeater and surprisingly he looks proud of me.

"You show courage Lantern, it's a shame we will not be fighting again." the super powered fiend moves closer to me and I struggle to raise my arm, after a few attempts my arm gives in. "Even now you fight." this time he laughs.

Now my eyes are fluttering open and closed, as I struggle to maintain my consciousness. Just as I fail, I could hear a friendly voice bound in from above.

"Not today he won't. SHAZAM!"

* * *

 _ **4th September 07:30, Brussels...**_

Out of the blue I open my eyes to see I am in a strange room that I have never been in before. All of the walls are a bright white and the room is filled with medical equipment. " Oh hey man, you wanna go for some waffles?." my head spins to the right to see the cheesy grin of Shazam, with Hawkgirl standing beside him.

"No" I bluntly reject his proposal, as I still feel like my ribs are about to be coughed up. He stands up and walks to the door and I could only just hear him muttering under his breath.

"Fine then, no thanks for me as usual."

"Thanks by the way." I call after him and he stops for a moment before spinning around and flashing me another grin, before he continues out of the room. Once he was out of sight I sit up and then proceed to stand up steadily.

"Since I won't get answers from him, i'll get them from you." I approach Hawkgirl, it's safe to say I am very, very angry. "Now please, tell me: How did they know where I would be?" I interrogate her, but she doesn't seem fazed by my aggressiveness.

"We let it slip you were carrying the data. Nothing personal." she says with a cold indifference that would make Batman cry. "We needed to ensure the data would arrive unhindered." she explains further in the same tone.

"You mean I was bait?" the realisation hit me like a ton of bricks. _Did Wonder Woman lie to me? Well no, she technically didn't lie, she just didn't explain clearly enough._ "You know what? I don't even care anymore. As long as the data got there, i'm fine." my deeper feeling is still a passive anger, but like a true Lantern I control my emotions and don't let them consume me. On the other hand I still feel like it's all good as long as the data arrived safely. Duty comes before self.

* * *

 ** _4th September 11: 00, Mount Justice..._**

After an uneventful ride home given by Hawkgirl as my ring needs charging, I flop down onto the coach and rub both of my temples in a relaxing manner. Just a few minutes after I arrive the rest of the team pile in from the zeta portal. They look just as weary as I do, even worse in my opinion. All of them head to bed apart from Superboy he sits awkwardly opposite from me.

"Sorry about before, I lost it." he whispers, it feels like it's a rare occasion that he apologises.

"It's okay, all is good. You like you've been through it." I comment sympathetically at his torn shirt.

"I don't want to talk about it." he says in a low volume.

"Well, I can say I've had a really rough day/ yesterday. The name Black Adam mean anything to you?" his face weirdly lights up.

"He fought Superman a couple of times." he states with a hint of pride.

"Yeah well he fought me as well. Can't say I did as well as Superman, damn he punches hard." I rub my chin, which still his a numb feeling from the medicine.

"How did you face him?" he curiously leans forward.

"Where to begin." I spend the next precious minutes going through the events, if my ring was charged I would have used the Playback function.

"That's harsh." he reviews my story. "It won't hurt to tell you what we did." now it was my turn to lean forward with curiosity.

Needless to say his story was a lot more interesting. A conspiracy involving a mind controller, Bialya and some robotic sphere. Leaving him to his thoughts on the couch, I head to my room to charge my ring. Opening my door I am shocked to see Artemis standing there, sifting through my things. "Excuse me." I announce my arrival and she turns awkwardly around to face me.

"It's not what it looks like." she blushes.

"What is it then?" at this point I am utterly confused.

"This used to be my room and I can't find something of mine." she doesn't seem to be lying, so I let her get on with it.

"Sure, look all you want. Just don't disturb me." I move over to the corner of the room and open my secret compartment I put in, in between them leaving and me going. Pulling out my battery I push my hand towards it until the ring is close to it's core. Out of the corner of my eye I see Artemis stood staring at me. I begin my oath.

"In Brightest day, in blackest night,

No evil shall escape my sight.

Let those who worship Evil's might,

Beware my power,

Green Lantern's light."

* * *

(A/N)

That's all for this part folks. Please could you leave a review, it would be much appreciated to help me improve.

Oh and PLEASE look on my Wattpad account, as I will be putting up a DC story I did a while back.

user/Jordino99


	3. Are you sure?

**A/N**

Another part just for you guys, I promise that a Percy Jackson part will be uploaded soon. Are you ready for some Wally/Kyle bonding?

Please pop a **REVIEW** , it would be much appreciated by me. Favs and Follows are equally as good.

Oh and check out my Wattpad stories on my profile (Jordino99)

* * *

 ** _3) Are you sure?..._**

 ** _7th September, 10:30. Happy Harbor High School._**

The entire school piles out of the building with an early closure, I think it's something to do with teacher training. Speaking of teacher training, I bet the lovely Canary will want to bruise us up again. No rest for the guy who get his ass handed to him by a supervillain, or a team that had their minds wiped by a guy whose brain is showing. Public indecency to the max.

Pushing past the mass crowd, I head to the nearest zeta pad and only just catch Connor and Megan as they were about to enter. "Ready for another beat down session? Canary will have us doing triple-training, or even quad-training." I guess and they both shrug their shoulders in unison. "I would go higher , but that's the limit of my vocabulary." I joke, however they had already jumped into the zeta. I throw my hands into the air in resignation. "I give up. Is there no appreciation for humour around here?." I mutter and step into the telephone box.

The spinning sensation you get from using the zeta is thankfully short-lived and the mechanical voice always brings with it the satisfying use of your name. "B08, Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner." _t_ _hat's me all right. Does Guy Gardner's say complete d-bag at the end?._ The smirk that had formed on my face wipes away, as instantly as it appeared. As I emerged from the tube to find Wally being thrown mercilessly across the room, by a mischievously grinning Black Canary.

"I hate being right." I proclaim to no one in particular, secretly hoping she won't put me in hospital.

"Shut up." Connor bluntly commands, before stepping into the training circle and getting into a battle stance. _When will he ever learn?._

* * *

After all of us received the biggest beat down we have ever met, me and Artemis slide onto the couch, while the others limp off to their rooms. Rubbing my aching limbs, I sneak in a few brief glances at the attractive blonde in front of me. Unluckily for me, she apparently notices and crosses her arms to cover herself and to seem more imposing. Attempting to waste time, I pull out the sketch pad I always keep ready in pocket and with a sharp pencil, I start to draw Artemis.

Out of the blue, she speaks up in a clear, but threatening tone. "Do you mind? Stop sneaking looks at me, you creeper." she glares at me with fire in those dark grey eyes.

"No, not at all." I sarcastically retort, it's too fun not to watch her cheeks go bright red in fury. "You should keep your emotions in check. They can be such a pain for us, sometimes." I provoke her further, keeping my eyes on my pad, pretending that I am ignorant to her anger.

"Unlike you, I need emotions. What are you anyway? Some hollow shell that can't even love, as it makes you weaker. So pathetic." she slams down the lantern card with righteous wrath. _Ouch. That's gonna sting in the morning._ Her face drains of all colour as begins to come to terms with what she just implied. _It is true though. Weirdly enough, having other emotions don't affect me like they do to Hal and John._ "I'm sorry." she barely speaks, her voice reduced to a whisper.

"It's okay. I appreciate your honesty, it's refreshing." I assure her and some vestiges of colour return to her face.

A few minutes pass filled with an awkward silence , until she suddenly re-engaged conversation. "You know that thing you did a couple of days ago?" she asks, I presume she is talking about the charging of my ring.

"The oath?" I comment to stimulate elaboration.

"Yeah. Where did you learn that?" she questions, whilst irritatingly fiddling with her ponytail.

"Uh... you just know." I explain, in shock that she is baffled by the most famous oath in the galaxy. "It's the oath of the Green Lantern Corp. It activates the battery and charges the ring from the main sources in Oa. It's a beautiful planet, you know." I reflect on my time on Oa with nostalgia.

"So this ring gives you these powers. Sounds easy and stupid." she furrows her brow, even to my eyes, I see she is contemplating her own lack of powers.

"Not as easy as you think. You see, I know it sounds clichéd, but the ring does choose you. It selects individuals in the nearest planet with the most willpower. Even after that, your powers rely on the wielder's will, you break the will and you break the lantern." my voice chokes at the end, after reliving my encounter with a Yellow Lantern during my first training mission.

"I don't see why it chose you. You're a goofball." she obviously jokes, although she seeds of plants doubt in my mind. _She's right. I was never chosen. It was a sham. I couldn't even beat a yellow Lantern, I caved in, I was just so scared._ "You okay?" she asks, concern leaking from behind her sassy demeanour.

"I'm fine." I state, however I feel far from it. Footsteps breach our conversation as Kid Flash entered the room and flops down beside Artemis.

"Wow. This is just like a Flash Family dinner." he blurts out, in the typical fashion which he usually does.

"I'm going to hit the showers." Artemis addresses us both, casting one last concerned look at me, before retreating to where KF came from.

"Oh yeah. That was awkward." he commences chewing a small chocolate bar. "She's totally into me." KF confidentaly speaks up, from his expression I believe he actually believes that himself.

"Sure thing. I'll keep an eye on that, you never know when girls are freed up." I wink and he chuckles, nearly choking on the chocolate.

"You never know, I think Robin will get a bird one of these days." he jokes and smiles when he realises his pun.

"If you two are done." Black Canary pops up behind Kid Flash, it's actually creepy how she managed to sneak up on us both. Wally exchanges a nervous glance with me and then he gulps.

"All done here." he quickly responds, so fast it sounded like all one word.

"Good. It seems Batman has a mission for you two." She gestures for us to follow and we instantly dart up and jog to keep up with his incredibly fast walk. She leads us to the training circle, where the legend himself is waiting.

"I wonder what the caped crusader wants us for." Wally whispers to me.

"That is what you will find out. If you don't talk." Batman amazes us both. _How did he hear us? I swear he does have powers. The power to be a complete bad-ass._ My admiration for the Dark Knight increases greatly, he has a remarkable ability to control even the most powerful heroes."The data Kyle was baiting for, has provided us with a unique opportunity. Thanks to that data, we can catch one of the most elusive villains out there. His name is Vandall Savage."

Both me and KF let out a collective gasp. Even Canary looks slightly surprised. "You got it Batman, this guy is ours." Kid Flash puts his arm around my left shoulder, all things considered, I share his confidence.

"No. You two are going in to extract hostages only. Recently Savage kidnapped two UN ambassadors from Canada and we have reason to believe he has them close to himself. Whilst the League deals with Savage, you will infiltrate and rescue. He will not be expecting you two." Batman briefs in a flat and monotonous tone. I can't help but feel deflated, however I know that it's innocents over villains.

"You got it Batman. You can count on us." I assure him, which is responded to by a swift nod. Kid Flash scratches the side of his head and asks

"Are you sure?"

* * *

 **A/N**

Sorry for the shorter part, you will notice the intermissions will be a lot shorter than the missions, as I want chapters to be structured and organised.

Please REVIEW and SHARE.

See you soon,

Jordy.


	4. No Evil Shall Escape My Sight

**A/N**

Nice to see you guys again and might I say a huge thank you the **350** views I have had so far. If you enjoy this story, then please pop a review and check out my other story on Wattpad. Look on my account named Jordino99, please!

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 **4) NO EVIL SHALL ESCAPE MY SIGHT** **...**

"Ok. So maybe this won't be as easy as I thought, but hey, at least it's a chance to get some practice." Kid Flash nervously chuckles as we push our backs together, whilst slowly turning around on the spot to see all the trouble surrounding us. The dark red eyes glow from the darkness, sending a cold chill down my spine. Realising that I'm getting scared, I shut out the fears creeping in and recite the oath in my mind. _In Brightest Day, in Blackest Night. No Evil Shall Escape My Sight, Let Those Who Worship Evil's Might. Beware My Power, Green Lantern's Light._ Feeling my fear evaporating, my green aura intensifies. It's bright light illuminating the shadows, revealing bared fangs. _You picked the wrong day to mess with me, weird... things._

"KF?" I mutter to my twitching companion.

"Yep."

"Baseball."

 **7th of September, 10:00 PM**

The cold of the mountains wraps around my body, as I lie on the soft, new, but freezing snow. Peeking over the side of the hill, my anxiety levels rise as Wally still isn't back yet from his scouting. _What is he doing, the idiot._ Right on schedule the familiar whizz drones into my right ear and Wally appears, lying on my right hand side. "Miss me?" he mocks, but I don't fall for it. This mission is far too important for me not to focus.

"Stay focused Wally. Lives are depending on us." I bark a little more roughly than I would have liked, but I can't afford any slip ups. "What's going on down there?" I question, Wally expression turns sour, so I know it must be bad.

"Plenty of Guards. Too many. I've found an entrance to the warehouse, now all we need is for the artillery to arrive." he briefs in a serious tone, a part of me finds it weird. However, the other knows I would rather have him in Gametime mode, we'll need him to get as out as fast as he can.

"They should be arriving any minute now." I assure. A wave of silence hits us. The only sound is the whirl of snow falling gently to the ground. Our breaths forming small clouds of pure nervousness, this is the calm before the storm, the silence before the roar of cheers, the numbness before the pain. This is the reality of having the lives of others rest upon your young shoulders, crushing down on our conscience.

"Whatever happens, I get the last cookie when we get back." Wally jokes, no matter the situation, he is always the beacon that guides us forward.

"You can have more than that. WHEN we do this, i'll get you a whole jar." I emphasise our inevitable success, willpower always prevails. "Heads up. JLA, incoming." I state when I see the figures of Superman, Hal Jordan and Martian Manhunter incoming. In a large orb construct made by Hal are: Green Arrow and Batman.

"Do they really need all of them?" Kid Flash asks incredulously, although I know why they brought in the powerhouses.

"From what i've heard about this guy, hell yeah." I respond, dubiously.

"I'll take your word on that." KF nodded with a wide grin on his face.

"I'm serious." I give a smile of my own.

"Stay focused, Kyle. Lives depend on us." Wally mimicks me from earlier, I couldn't think of a comeback, so I decided to keep my mouth shut. "Showtime baby."

 **Justice League POV (Third Person)**

" _Are you sure about this bats? Entrusting lives with two kids._ " Hal questions Batman over the telepathic link that the Martian Manhunter has estabilished, Batman scowls over Hal lacking faith in the two members of the Young Justice.

" _You need to have more faith in your fellow Lanterns. There is no room for doubts in the League._ " Batman coldly shoots down the lantern's query, earning a small chuckle from the Green Arrow, who quickly stops when put under the Bat-glare.

" _Hal has f_ _aith? Not a chance. He doesn't even trust himself to not fall off the bed at night._ " Superman casually jokes, Hal nearly breaks his own construct from the shock.

" _Was that a joke... from Superman?_ " Green Arrow inserts himself into the conversation. " _J'onn, can you check out his brain for damage?_ " the Arrow begs the Martian, completely serious about his request. All of the group were still in a state of nihilism, apart from Batman, who was unfazed.

" _I do not understand. Why would you request me to do this?_ " J'onn asks, befuddled to the reasoning and human humour in general.

" _Shut it, all of you. Might I remind you we are here to arrest a 52,000 year old immortal, not a common criminal._ " Batman barks through the link, followed by silence. No-one, not even Superman, dares disobey the bat. " _We are approaching the compound._ " the dark knight cooly informs, with the target creeping into view.

" _You ready, Bats and Arrow?_ " Hal requests, making sure they are ready for phase one of the attack.

" _Ready._ "

" _Ready._ " the two quickly respond and bend their knees slightly, bracing for impact.

" _All aboard the choo-choo train._ " Hal jested, before sending Green Arrow and Batman spiralling towards the compound in a huge flying train, Green Arrow is thrown about the construct, where as Batman is standing firmly in the middle of the chaos.

 **Kyle's POV, 10:30PM**

After a rather weird flying train smashed into the facility and instigating thugs to swarm out of the warehouse like a bunch of school children, me and Wally took the chance given to us. Ignoring the sounds of explosions and mayhem around us, we sneaked to the hidden entrance Wally had found. To say it was an entrance would be on overstatement. It's only a hole in one of the walls. "Come on Kyle, time waits for no hero." Wally motions me to follow him into the warehouse, where the hostages are supposed to be kept.

Once we enter the warehouse, we can't see anything as it is pitch-black. The only light in the room is the slight glow my suit gives off constantly. "Owww" Wally winces as it sounds like he hit a wall or something. "Uh, Kyle. How are we supposed to find these people to rescue?" Kid Flash mutters, I was about to answer when I heard a slight creak coming from my left.

"It's nothing." I assure myself.

"That's what they always say in horror movies... before they die." Wally declares, adding no security to my nerves.

"Gee, thanks." I groan, using the moment to crack a few of my knuckles and stretch out my fingers.

"Uhh, Kyle, what is that?" KF inquires, turning around I notice what he is staring at. A multitude of red eyes peeking out of the shadows, I was about to ask the same question when several more sets of eyes appear all around us. They form a circle around us, seeming as though they are daring us to run. "We're surrounded." Wally whimpers and pushes his back into mine. "Ok. So maybe this won't be as easy as I thought, but hey, at least it's a chance to get some practice." KF chuckles darkly. Feeling my will grow and thrive, the light illuminates the shadows to reveal huge and disgusting spiders; pincers clicking in anticipation.

"KF?" I whisper behind my shoulders.

"Yep."

"Baseball."

"This is gonna be cool." Wally utters, before taking a deep breath and whizzing away. Forming a baseball bat, I go into a batting stance and face the direction he ran off to. Within a few seconds he zooms back and rolls into a cannonball, hurtling straight towards me. Swinging at him, I connect and he flies into the nearest spider, surprisingly splitting it in half. A few sparks fly off the smouldering heap of metal. _They are robots._ With one down the rest pounce on me and Wally, who is still getting up from the maneuver.

Constructing a shield, I leap in front of Wally and deflect a spider that was pouncing onto him. "Thanks." he congratulates gratefully and runs off, smashing two more spiders in quick succession. Out of the blue a spider attacks me from behind and I soar into something hard, which moves and throws me onto the floor. _T_ _hese guys are playing ping-pong and i'm the ball._ As I was holding up my ring, a leg knocks it back to the ground and I find myself pinned by both arms under one of the spiders.

It's head bows down and stares at me in the eyes, for a few moments it remains that way until it dips down, it's metal fangs searching for my throat. _Not today, you aren't._ I wriggle my right hand free and send a blast of willpower into it's chest, blowing a hole clean through it. Pushing it's carcass off me, I float up to see Kid Flash in a similar position, until I constructed a chain and yanked the thing off him.

I held it down as he rapidly punched it until he broke through the shell, the punches were so fast I have no idea how many it took. "Well, that was entertaining." I croak, my breathing still heavy from the exertion of precious energy.

"Thrilling mission. Check. Near death experience. Check. Hostages. Nope" he makes a mental checklist, he was right about all things, there are no hostages to be seen.

"Where are the hostages?" I try to deduce, but I will disrupted by Superman crashing through the wall into the warehouse. "Ok, I think we should help him." I presume, we instantely run over to the hero, who stands up.

He turns around and spots us coming, he holds out his had, signelling us to stop. "Get out of here and signal the League, this whole area for miles around is jammed." he orders before soaring out of the warehoude he entered, yelling in a ferocious battle cry. By now I only just noticed the intense shouting going on outside and could tell they were in trouble.

"Wally, get out of here and call in the League." I command, but Wally shakes his head.

"No. I'm staying."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

Having enough of this nonsense I grab a hold of his suit and pull him towards me. "I need you to go!. WE need you!. You are the only fast enough to run all the way outside of the jamming range!." I yell in what could be considered borderline rage. Pulling my emotions together, I let go of him and look into his eyes. "You gotta go, bro." Wally nods and immediately zooms away into the distance. _We're counting on you KF._ Steeling my will, I fly out through the hole and bear witness to the scene unfolding around me.

Chaos is consuming my eyes, as I see: Batman locked in a vicious battle with Bane, Hal in a war of emotion with Sinestro, Green Arrow in a stalemate with Killer Frost, Martian Manhunter in a duel of minds with Gorilla Grodd and finally, Superman in a colossal brawl with Black Adam. _Damn, this is bad._ This is the only though circling my mind. As though punishing me for this, Hal comes crashing to the ground by a blast of fear from Sinestro.

Protecting my fellow Lantern, I soar up into the sky until I am face to face with the user of fear, who is only a few unbearable metres away from me. "Hal was so pitiful, it's genuinely sad. Now, let's see if you are any different." Sinestro cackles menacingly, although he was leaving himself open. Seizing the opening, I leap forward with a constructed fist and swing for him. Almost with no effort at all, he bashes it away with a fist of his own. "Taking the fight to the enemy, how ruthless of you." Sinestro compliments, almost making me throw up.

"Does anyone ever talk to you? Is that why you love the sound of your own voice? Or is it that, that moustache of yours has a life of its own." I insult and my enemy lashes out with a claw, which wraps around me. Summoning my will, I only just break out of the chains and I am given no time to rest, as several blasts of energy as thrown my way. Constructing a force-field, I hastily observe the events around me and the balance is tipping out of our favour. Batman was winning his fight with Bane, but with help from Killer Frost, he is slowly losing. Green Arrow is lying on the ground and struggling to escape the ice freezed over his body. Hal is still twitching on the floor, I am thankful he is still showing life. Just as I saw Superman, a bolt of lightning slammed into him and he stumbles slightly, before uppercutting Black Adam. Finally, over in the far corner is Grodd and Manhunter, motionless as they invade each others minds. _We won't hold out for much longer._ the fear I had though I shook off earlier, returns with a vengeance. However, something happened that I would never expect. It felt... powerful.

"Feel your fear crawling in. It's time to give up." Sinestro commences attacing my shield with an array of weapons, ranging from rockets to giant knives. For some unexplainable reason, I not breaking. If a Green Lantern succumbs to fear, it's constructs will crumble, not hold. _So why do I feel stronger than ever?_ the questions I have in my head will have to wait, as Sinestro is growing impatient and devolving to smash the shield with enough energy to cause a supernova.

"A Green Lantern never gives in,... hipster." I release the field and focus my mind on the sole task of defeating this enemy. Reflecting my increase in willpower, the aura coming off my suit is magnifying, lighting up the night sky. Charging towards the Yellow Lantern without any constructs,I wait until the right moment before I unleash a blast of energy, sending Sinestro back a few metres in the air.

"You cannot possibly win. All of your friends will die and so will you." Sinestro sadistically smirks, driving me on further.

"In Brightest Day." I begin, slamming into the villain with another blast. "In Blackest Night." I smash through the bubble Sinestro put up with another unforgiving blast. "No Evil Shall Escape My Sight." Sinestro tries to dart to the side and avoid my next relentless dose of justice, but he is too slow and is pushed back further. "Let Those Who Worship Evil's Might." I construct a large jumbo-jet in the air above me. " Beware My Power. Green Lantern's Light!" I launch my construct at Sinestro and he is helpless to stop it from sending him to the ground like a meteorite.

Seeing the unconscious body of Sinestro prostrate in a crater below, I torpedo down to where Batman is about to get his back broken by Bane. Using a constructed whip, I grab Bane's leg and avoiding ice from Killer Frost, I trip the venom addict over. This allows Batman to spring up and smack Frost on the back of her head, knocking the meta-human out. Restraining Bane with chains of will, I observe as Batman strolls over to Bane and pulls out the tube connected to Bane's head, stopping the flow of Venom and putting him in a temporary coma from overdose."Where's Sinestro?" Batman questions.

"Dealt with." I answer, pretty proud I took on the infamous Sinestro.

"Good job. Go help Arrow and I will assist Superman with Adam." the caped crusader sprints away, cape fluttering in the air behind him. _Did I just get a compliment from Batman?._ After handcuffing Frost and Bane, I head to where the Green Arrow is trapped.

"D-d-d-do you m-mind g-getting this t-thing off me." he stammers as he sees me approaching, no doubt due to the sub-zero ice around his body. With a few well aimed blasts, I shot off the ice and was just about to find a way to warm him up when half the League appeared out of nowhere. At the head was Wonder Woman and John Stewart.

"Right on time, as always." I sarcastically remark, which John frowns at.

"Show some respect, Lantern." he orders like i'm a soldier.

"Hey John, leave the kid be. You should have seen him. He kicked Sinestro's ass back to Fearville." Green Arrow backed me up and my respect for him grew by a great amount. To my surprise Wonder Woman raises an eyebrow, whilst John actually looks pleased.

"In that case, well done rookie." he congratulates with a slap on the back.

"Hey Firestorm, mind giving me a little warmup." the Arrow asks and hobbles away to the hero in the background.

"Where are the rest?" Wonder Woman questions and I point to where Hal is now being lifted away by Hawkgirl and Hawkman.

"I am here." a voice belonging to the Martiam Manhunter pops into the conversation, very creepily I might add. "I have won my fight. How did the others fare?" MM casually shakes off some dust off his shoulder.

"We just received word that Black Adam escaped, Bane and Killer Frost are in custody and Grodd is being taken now." the Princess briefs, after which we stroll over to the crate where Sinestro should be and I am horrified to find it empty.

"Damn!" I shout at the sky. Today is full of surprises as the Amazonian puts her hand on my shoulder.

"Do not worry, we will find him. As for you, I think it's best if you head to the medbay." she advises, confused as to what she means, I look down and understand the concern. Several parts of my suit is ripped off, leaving deep gashes along my ab, chest and arms. Flushing slightly from my exposed flesh, I touch a few cuts and wince as I realise how deep they are. "We have to find out why Vandall Savage and the hostages are here, but they are."

"I'll be sure to get Hal to thank you." John smiles in what must be the first time I have ever seem him do that. Giving me one last glance, they lift off into the air and leave me to deal with my injuries alone.

"Kyle!" I hear a yell and with a blur KF appears in front of me. "You look terrible." he bluntly comments, poking a few places on my face, causing me to wince in pain. "They got your face good." he continues with the prodding.

"Not the face. It's my best features. " I joke and chuckle, being cut short by the agony it causes on my ribs.

"Shame I wasn't here. " Wally looks genuinely dissapointed by not being in the fight.

"Believe me, it was a mess." I explain the events of the battle to him, with every detail he twitches slightly, however I miss out the part with my weird reaction to fear.

"Let's go man."


	5. Why Always Me?

**A/N**

Hi people! I love the support for the book so far. As I have said plenty of times before, I have another series on Wattpad which is just amazing, according to others. It's based in an original DC city and with original heroes and villains. Just look for Titan Chronicles. Apart from that, have fun. (Spoiler!) This Chapter will replace the episode where the cave is attacked.

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 **5) Why Always Me?**

 **22nd September, Happy Harbour High - 1:00 PM**

Patiently waiting for the two lovebirds to arrive, I rub my entire body, which is still banged up from the events of the past week. The school dinner hall is packed with teenagers with all kinds of hero merchandise, most of them wearing the big three. A few even have a lantern shirt on. _Good job kids. Guess who's a REAL lantern? Me, that's who._ Basking in the view, I sit on one of the benches, still scanning for Supes and Miss M. As though hearing my call, the one and only Martian steps into the hall and I give her clear wave. Seeing my gesture in the crowd, she waltzes over in the usual grace with she usually walks in. Reaching me, we fist bump and she sits on the seating part of the bench on my bottom left. "Do you know where Connor is?" she questions, her eyes flitting around for the grumpy guy.

"Nah. I usually try to avoid him. I have a feeling he really hates me for some reason." I shrug, throwing pieces of a sandwich into the bin a few yards opposite me.

"No, he doesn't." she sincerely assures, she clearly has no idea how much I annoy people. The only reason I don't annoy her is that I find her kind of cute, in a strictly professional way. "I believe that he needs some time to become friend with you, that's all. What do you think about the team? We are all one big family, right!?." she beams in a horrifically creepy way, I hope never to see that type of smile ever again.

"I... like it. Sure, Robin and Aqualad get on my nerves, but KF and you are actually pretty fun." I respond, although I may have lied about Miss Martian, she is literally the most boring creature in the universe. Believe me, I know every being in the universe and there are some parasites that you can have more fun with. _I mean, come on, her favourite hobby is cooking... cooking!._ "Anyhow, I have no idea where your buddy is." I inform my female friend, surprise hit me when a brief expression of disappointment flashed across her face.

"Hey, are you ok-"

My concern was cut severely short by an eruption of screams from the hall. Followed by a mass stampede, as our fellow students poured out of the hall in a state of panic. " _What's going on!?_ " Megan telepathically yells into my brain.

" _No idea. We should find out._ " I reply, shoving my way towards the direction they are fleeing from. Reaching the entrance to the hall that connects to a corridor, I stare down the long path and to my shock, a horde of undead are filing towards us. " _Zombies? I HATE zombies!._ " Grabbing Megan's arm, I lead her down the corridor towards the zombies and turn right. Finding the store cupboard, I kick it open and pull her in with me.

" _Zombies? What are zombies?_ " Megan asks, clearly she has never seen a horror movie before.

" _Dead things or people that have been ressurected._ " I explain, whilst pulling out my communicator and attempting to call Black Canary. " _Come on!. Come on!. Come on!._ " I impatiently wait, until a short clicking noise happens and a familiar voice booms through the com.

"I'm sorry, but Black Canary is unable to reach her device. Please may I respond on her behalf?." the mechanical tone of Red Tornado emerges into my ear, a calming relief vegins to soothe my growing anxiety.

"Uhhhh... well, zombies are attacking my school, so yeah, help please." I blurt out, struggling to phrase the sentence so I don't sound like a crazy person.

"Very well. Standby for assistance, allies will be there soon." Red Tornado flatly answers, sometimes I wish he actually had emotions, at least then he would know when to be nice.

" _I guess that's our cue._ " I telepathically anounce to my companion and standing straight up, I construct my armour and mask. " _I'm pretty sure that this calls for identity protection, don't you?_ " I joke, trying to at least brighten up the dire situation a little bit. Feeling the sting of my still bruised rib, I shake it off and watch Megan change from Caucasian to green before my very eyes.

" _All set, let's go find Connor._ " she advises and steps cautiously out of the room.

" _I never thought i'd say this, but I sure hope we can find him._ "

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 **Robin and Artemis's POV**

"This is Red Tornado to all Young Justice members, Happy Harbour High School is under siege and requires your assistance." Red Tornado's voice appears from the earpiece I always have in my ear, when I am in school.

"Sorry Miss, go to go. My cat ate a shellfish." I excuse myself with the first thing I could come up with and before she could stop me, I rush out of the class and bound down the stairs. Once at the bottom, I turn left and barge the door open, ending up in the open air of Gotham. Seeing Artemis doing the exact same thing, but on the opposite end of the school, I flash her a serious stare. "Let's go!." I sternly command.

With speed we never thought possible, we didn't stop running until we got to the zeta tube disguised as a postbox. _When our friends are in trouble, nobody can stop us._ Feeling driven, I follow Artemis into the tube.

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 **Kid Flash's POV**

 _Oh dear, looks like my friends are in trouble._ Pushing myself from the table, I stand up and observe the confused faces of my classmates. "I dropped my... pen, outside. I'll go get it." I excuse and run at normal speed out of the classroom. Once outside, I zoom away in the blink of an eye. _Uncle Barry is so going to kill me._

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 **Young Justice POV - Third Person**

Soaring through the air, the Green Lantern and the Martian bombard the rapidly increasing crowd of the undead. " _We need to find where they are coming from._ " Megan orders, sending a group of undead crashing to the ground with a telekinetic blast.

" _Good idea, but I hope you have a plan to go along with that. I'm almost one hundred percent sure, that these guys are not natural._ " the Lantern remarks, whilst sending blasts of energy from his ring into the crowd. " _Find someone in there that is thinking, might mean it's alive._ " he advises, hovering a few centimetres higher to avoid any flailing arms.

" _I will need some time._ " she states, earning a smirk and a nod from Kyle. True to her word, she stops and holds her hands to her head, meanwhile, Kyle constructs a train and sends it into the crowd; this sends bodies catapulting into the air and back down with a thud.

" _Uh, Megan._ " he interrupts her concentration.

" _What is it, Kyle?_ "

" _Sorry to bother you and all, but I_ _think i've found your boyfriend._ " he casually announces, whilst playing whack-a-mole with the heads of zombies, using a very large hammer. Halting his game for a second, he points into the distance and they could see tens of undead being launched into the air at a time, as a particular teenager jumps a football pitch at a time.

" _Help him, Kyle._ " she orders, distress clearly present in her voice.

" _Will do._ " he salutes and does a backflip in the air, changing direction to go support the Kryptonian powerhouse. Flying through the air to his ally, he was suddenly hit by something and sent crashing through thewall of the school and onto the hard gym floor. " _Owww._ " he groans, while slowly picking himself up.

Hearing Kyle being sent through the wall, Superboy jumps through the hole and helps him up. " _Thanks, Superkid. What happened?_ " Kyle slaps him on the back.

" _Stop calling me that!_ " Connor yells back, returning the favour and sending Kyle into the spectator benches.

" _Owwww... again._ " the Lantern telepathically groans, pushing off pieces of wood from his chest. Remembering that there is a horde of undead outside, Superboy jumps out of the hole and starts smashing the endless amounts of soulless. Kyle quickly follows suit and flies out, sending constructed rockets into the crowd. Suddenly the movement stopped and the undead drop and to the ground and seemingly dissapears into thin air.

With all the enemies gone, a lone person was left, someone they had hoped to never meet. "Felix Faust." Superboy briefs, although he needs no introduction to the other two heroes.

"Such a pleasure to meet you all, I didn't expect for anybody to turn up." he sadistically cackles. "Look who we have here, i've heard about you, Superboy." he looks directly at Superboy, who recoils slightly at the attention. "I could give you what you want most. I could give you powers, even Superman couldn't dream of, but only if you destroy your friends here." he offers, an evil twinkle forming in his eye.

For a second, Superboy heavily considered the offer, but he realised that he would never do that to his friends. However, his hesitation didn't go unnoticed by Kyle and Megan. "No. Not a chance. I'd rather beat you down!." Connor screams. With a battle cry, he leaps towards Faust, but gets hit back an invisible wall and is sent backwards and lands roughly on the ground. Faust lowers his arm and lets out another cackle.

" _Together, this time. Ready Kyle?_ " Miss Martian commands.

" _Hell yeah, this old man is gonna wish he stayed in his care home._ "

As if waiting for this exact moment, two zip lines smash into the ground and Artemis and Robin zip down them. Upon hitting the ground, a familiar whizz introduces Kid Flash. " You weren't going to start the party, without us, was you?" Robin jokes in his usual hero humour. Smiling at the arrival of backup, Superboy and Kyle charge straight for Faust. Superboy being tripped over out of nowhere and Kyle being sent out of the air by a blast of magic.

With a few flicks of his hands and two quiet words from Faust, the groubd shakes and a huge creature that looks like a 20 foot long undead dragon rips out of the ground and lifts off into the air. "Bye now, I have already served my purpose." Faust announces and vanishes right in front of the befuddled team.

" _Let's slay a dragon._ " Connor mutters.

All at once, the team assualt the mighty beast. Flying back into the air, Kyle constructs a chain around its neck and pulls it back down to the solid ground. Superboy and Kid Flash begin to swerve and dodge the dragons tail and jaws, countering whenever the opportunity arises. Robin, Artemis and Miss Martian all attack the beast with whatever they could get a hold of. Artemis uses explosive arrows on its body, ranging from its neck to its tail. Robin is throwing his disks, filled with an assortment of tricks, including: Explosives, Electric charges and just normal metal blades. Meanwhile, Megan throws broken pieces of rock at the beast using telekinesis.

Struggling to hold the dragon down, Kyle adds extra reinforcement to his chain and forms gloves around is hands, strengthening him slightly. " _What is taking so long guys?_ " Kyle questions, annoyed as to why the thing was still up and kicking.

" _It's kinda hard to beat Kyle, i've got to dodge it's tail AND jaws at the same time._ " Wally complains, frustrated with the lack of progress.

" _In other words, shut up!._ " Superboy adds, being sent for the fourth time into the floor. Sighing, Kyle focuse all of his will into keeping this thing from flying off into the unknown. Superboy jumps onto its neck and attempts to strangle the dragon, giving up shortly after, he begins pounding on the creatures spine. Seizing the moment, Robin and Artemis also jump on the dragon using zip lines, following Superboy's example, they bring all of their arsenal to bear on the poor things back and wings. The team moved with a fluidity and easy motions that at a first glance you would mistake them for their mentors.

Adding to the fight, Megan distracts the beast by flying and around it's huge jaws, only just avoiding being eaten whole every time. " _Wally! Form a vacuum._ " Robins orders across their minds, without Kaldur, he knows he has to take up the position with absolute control.

" _One vacuum, coming right up!_ " Wally obeys and utilising the mysterious speed force, he sprints in circles around the creature, constantly growing in speed.

" _Let it go, Kyle. After that, we're going to need you to help Wally contain it._ " Robin barks.

" _If you say so._ " with that, the Green Lantern breaks his construct and flies out of the range of the dragon's fearsome weaponry Foloowing his cue, the group which was on the dragon's back jumps off and runs away. As Wally gets faster, the dragon hopelessly tries to flap away with it's wings to no avail. " _No air, no flying._ " the team starts to grow in confidence, when it all goes wrong. Out of nowhere, a well-timed swipe of the tail sends Wally into the nearest wall, unconscious.

" _What now!?_ " Superboy angrily growls, preparing to jump onto the beast once more.

" _We need to all remain calm._ " Robin assures.

" _Are you kidding me? How are we supposed to remain calm, at a time like this?_ " Artemis interjects.

" _Robin is right. We need to asses the situation, before we act._ " Kyle gives his view.

" _That's just great coming from you! How many times have you panicked before? Even in training you do._ " Superboy pushes in.

" _Oh no, you didn't._ " Kyle responds.

" _Get yourself together, you idiot._ "

" _Superman rip-off!_ "

" _Batman_ _ass-kisser!._ "

" _Has a crush on Megan._ "

 _"Has a crush on Wonder Woman._ "

" _Born in a t_ _est tube. Ouch, that must have gave you third degree burns._ "

" _Only has powers, because he wears a magical ring from outer space._ "

" _It's NOT MAGICAL!_ "

" _Hello Megan!. Why didn't I think of that before? Space!._ " Miss Martian cuts off the all-out war between Kyle and Superboy.

" _Space?_ " both Connor and Kyle say at the same time.

" _Kyle can pull it up and leave it in space, until the League can dispose of it._ " she explains, with the utmost faith in her own plan.

" _One problem: I could barely keep it on the ground, so how will I be able to lift it up that far?._ " Kyle asks.

" _Your ring relies on willpower, right? So, I can pour everyone's subconscious into your mind and temporarily combine our wills._ " she figures out, Kyle and Superboy take a moment, but ultimately agree to the plan. Just as they were about to ask Robin for his approval, they noticed that him, Artemis and a now awake Wally are fighting the monster.

" _We got the plan. Are you ready guys?_ " Artemis assures and they all stop fighting and group around Kyle. Within a few mere seconds, Kyle could feel a rush of energy, as the team entered his mind. The power was unlike anything he had ever imagined, every step he took shook the ground with energy. Sticking to the plan, he lifts off and constructs a massive hand, wrapping it around the neck of the dragon. With relative ease, he soared upwards and into the surrounding space, dropping off the monster.

Still filled with energy, he obliterates a nearby meteor shower with incredible power. Suddenly, he felt incredibly weak and lost control of his entire body. Hurtling towards the Earth, he lost consciousness, a warm trickle of blood running down his nose.

* * *

 **Mount Justice - A few hours later**

"Guys! He's waking up!" Wally yells to his friends and they are rush over. Kyle has to force his eyes open, when his entire body racks with pain.

"Owwwwwwwww" he cries under the severe agony.

"I can only image how much pain you are going through right now, good, you deserve it." Connor laughs maniacally.

"Connor!" Megan glares and he instantly stopped.

"What happened? I feel like I just went on a night-out with Red Hood." Kyle groans.

"You passed out, man. Got hit by a couple of big rocks on your way down, that's why your entire body hurts like hell." Wally informs, concern flooding his tone.

"Also, the amount of energy in your body from our combined wills, was too much and your body collapsed. I'm so sorry, it's all my fault." Miss Martian says, tears forming in her eyes.

"It's okay, as long as Wonder Woman is my nurse, i'll be fine." Kyle jokes, however, there was a hint of truth in there. A cough interrupts us and Black Canary steps out from the shadows with another set of bandages. She stops at stares at Kyle.

"I will have to do." she smiles, Kyle exhales, having been holding his breath in anxiety.

"That's not the worst part." Robin speaks up and the faces of the team members go sour. "The Helmet of Fate was stolen."

* * *

 **A/N**

Hope you enjoyed the chapter and can I say now that I am sorry if you find any of the jokes offensive, but that was the whole point of putting it there.


	6. Reckless instincts

A/N

How are you people? Hopefully, when I get my laptop fixed, I should be pumping these out quickly. Anyhow, here is the most recent addition of this story.

* * *

 **6) Reckless instincts, lead to reckless decisions...**

 **25th September, 10:00PM**

"As I previously said, this is perhaps the most important mission you have undertaken. Perhaps the most dangerous, as well. There will be no room for improvisation, only full commitment to the plan. Are you listening, Kyle?" Batman's briefing still echoes in my head, as we approach the dense jungles of Amazonian Brazil, aboard the enough, we also have Shazam and Red Tornado on board, this time. It seems the infamous tactician is taking no chances this time. _The power of the Helmet of Fate is on the line. I can't see why we have to do this, we are just sidekicks after all._ I mentally complain at the stressful situation.

" _We aren't sidekicks._ " Robin states using the telepathic link, which I completely forgot even existed.

" _We are... protégés, it's different._ " Wally elaborates.

" _No, it's not. Both are terms for bootlickers._ " I respond, softly, because I know how much Wally adores the Flash. " _and then you just have Aqualad, who, no offence, has his own term of bootlicking to Aquaman._ " I jest, avoiding the glare thrown my way by Connor, just daring me to insult him.

" _Settle down now, kids_." Shazam interrupts the argument in his own way. " _Kyle does have a point, btw._ " Shazam adds, making me chuckle a little. He winks at me and stands up, once he stretched his legs a little bit, he flew out of the ship. " _Going to scout ahead, don't have a party without me._ " he informs as soon as he exited the flying ship.

" _Now that's all over, how about we go over the plan?_ " Robin suggests after a awkward few moments of silence.

" _Great idea, Robin. It will allow us to prepare for the mission._ " Aqualad inputs, an almost anxious tone present on the fringes of his voice. " _I will go in with Red Tornado and Wally. Together, we will neutralise any alarms or patrolling guards around the compound._ " he continues, gesturing to Wally and Red Tornado. Wally playfully salutes, but Red Tornado stays still in his chair, not moving an inch.

" _Me and Shazam will infiltrate the facility undetected and take back the helmet._ " Megan briefs, her enthusiasm leaks into us, through the mental link. The team now looks to us remaining three, as the final piece.

" _Me, Connor and Kyle will be on hand to support and if necessary, en-_ "

" _Break some things._ " Artemis began, but was cut short by Superboy's interruption. Superboy claps his hands together and cracks them impatiently. " _If there are any monkeys in this jungle, they are dead._ " he presses on, the smirk on his face signifies he is imagining what he will do to those poor monkeys. "I hate monkeys." he mutters maliciously under his breath.

" _We are approaching our destination._ " Aqualad states, seemingly unfazed by Superboy and his sadistic dreams.

" _Let's go save the world!._ " I stand up and shout, tumbling over when the ship suddenly jerks.

" _I'm so sorry, Kyle._ " Megan gasps through the link, Superboy sits in the background laughing, soon the entire team join in.

" _You won't be laughing when I'm in the honour guard._ "

 **25th September, 10:30PM - Kyle's group**

Sitting in my position twiddling my thumbs, I resort to blowing air onto Connor's back in my boredom. After my third blow, he spins around and glares at me threateningly. "What?" he growls, I put my hands up in the air, pretending like I didn't do anything. "Idiot." he mumbles as he turns back around.

Looking for someone else to annoy, I throw a small rock at Artemis, it hits her on the lower back. Surprised, she turns on her heels and points directly at me. "I swear Kyle, if that was you." she barks, keeping her finger pointed at my heart. Pulling the same move I did with Connor, I put my arms in the air, in a surrender-like pose. "I thought so." she turns back around and scans the area with binoculars.

"They are taking too long." Connor comments, Artemis nods in agreement.

"You're right. Should we move in?" she agrees, I was about to answer, when I noticed that the question was aimed at Connor and not me. _Why do you guys never ask me?_ I question in my mind.

"We will go in together." he replies and they were about to run off, when I noticed one glaring detail.

"Guys." I call and they both stop in their tracks. "Did you not hear my question? I meant for it to be a joke, but... I thought it." I probe, really hoping they heard me, but chose to ignore me. Realising the implications of my question and knowing the answer, Superboy's eyes go wide.

"New plan. Me and Kyle will save Megan, you will get the helmet." Superboy orders to us, jumping away before we could debate his decision. Following him through the air, I glance back at Artemis and note the concerned look she is giving me. _Don't worry, We got this._ I assure, even though I know that she can't hear me at all. After it took me a while to catch up, I grabbed Superboy from the air and speed up.

As the sight of the compound comes into view, explosions ripple the air surrounding us. _Anti-aircraft guns._ I strafe to the left and right to avoid the incoming shells, narrowly avoiding one, that just skimmed my right arm. Reaching the target destination relatively unharmed, I drop Connor onto a battle, where Shazam is in the midst of battling Blockbuster and Mister Freeze. Landing myself next to Shazam, I block an incoming freeze blast from Mister Freeze, using a constructed riot shield.

"Need some help?" I joke, blocking another blast with the same shield. Out of the corner of my eye, I observe Superboy being thrown onto the ground by Blockbuster.

"Uhhh... yeah, I think so." he responds, soaring through the air and tackling Blockbuster to the ground, just as it was about to crush Connor.

"Kyle, go and get Megan and the others. We'll deal with these two." Connor commands, launching a unified attack on Blockbuster with Shazam. Throwing my constructed shield into Mr Freeze, I soar away and search for my injured friend.

 **Artemis POV**

Sneaking through this very tight tunnel or you could say vent, the only sound I hear is the sound of my constant breathing and the bangs as my knees slide against the hard and cold metal. Halfway through the tunnel, Ip picked up on a clear and authoritative voice that would put Batman's to shame. Judging from the tone, it sounds as if someone is getting shouted at for some reason. "What do you mean, that you cannot move the weapon?" the voice barks coldly at the other member of teh conversation.

"The weapon cannot be moved any further, when any of my men touch it, they fall to the ground unconscious." the recipient of the shouting replies timidly, probably fearing the wrath of the shouter.

"No doubt the heroes outside have something to do with this." the voice reasons, a little quieter than before. "Very well. Abandon the weapon and evacuate the facility, prime the backup explosives. If we cannot have the weapon, neither can they." the voice continues, before a sharp snap and a massive sigh of relief could be heard.

"The light will have my head for this." the remaining male voice states. _The light? What on earth is the light?._ Picking myself up, I commence my knee dragging once again, my head still reeling from the unveiling of that disturbing information. _Guess it's my job to get the helmet and save the day. No problem, I just hope they thank me for this._ Bringing out a sigh of my own, I kick down the grate and jump down onto the solid floor and ready my bow.

 **Kyle's POV**

Soaring just above the facility, I notice a huge amount of bad guy activity to the eastern side, so I think it's best to check it out. Landing in the middle of the chaotic movement, I spot five prostrate figures on the ground and I recognise them as: Robin, Miss Martian, Wally, Red Tornado and Aqualad. As I come closer, I have to swat a few attacker with a literal fly swat, which I might add was pretty fun. Finally reaching them, I blast off the restraints that hold them and they slowly shrug off the tiredness in their limbs. "Need some help, guys?" I ask, for the first time in a while, actually a genuine question.

"We are fine. Although, Miss Martian seems to have encountered... brain freeze." Aqualad informs and for a second I thought he was joking.

"That explains the lack of communication." I mutter, slightly concerned about how Superboy will react.

"Where at the others? " Robin inquires.

"We need to help, there are some serious issues that need to be solved." Wally cracks his fists in a way Connor would.

"I will stay and tend to Miss Martian, for you, priority number one is the helmet of fate." Red Tornado speaks for what seems like the first time in the mission, no doubt, because it is.

"Let's go." I command to the determined heroes and grab Robin, lifting off into the air with him in my arms. "Damn, how much do you weigh?" I joke, seeing as though I could lift him with one arm.

"Less than you." he sarcastically responds. As we reach above the fight with Blockbuster and Mr Freeze, I dive and drop Robin, who acrobatically kicks Freeze in the chest. Joining the fray, I charge at Freeze with a constructed guard around my right fist and punch him. This sends him a few yards, luckily for him, I was holding back. Out of nowhere, a blur later and Freeze was wriggling on the ground, handcuffed and rendered useless.

Turning our attention to the remaining villain, I watch as Shazam blasts lightning into the beast and Superboy follows up with a series of punches. Next, Aqualad joins in with his waterformers, smashing at the villain with hammers. Kid Flash takes his turn and distracts him, constantly running from side to side in it's eyeline, infuriating it.

Seizing the opportunity, I construct a cannon and launch Robin into Blockbuster, finishing it off with a round of explosive disks. Falling to the ground, we stand victorious over our foe and fist bump each other. Suddenly, an explosion rippled and the shock wave would have sent us to the ground, if I didn't form a reactionary field around all of us. Observing smoke and fire engulf the building, we all thought that we had failed. Surprise over took that, when Artemis stood in front of us cockily, waving the helmet in front of us. "Look what I found." she mocks, vhuckling slightly.

"You are awesome." I blurt out, ruining whatever pride I have left.

"I know." she announces cockily.

"Can we go ho-" Wally was interrupted by the sight of missiles approuching us and a plane taking off into the night sky.

"Artemis! Shoot them down! Kyle! You help!" Robin orders, but I have another goal in mind.

"No! I'm going after the plane!" I shout, as I take off for the plane, intent on placing a tracker on it.

"Get down here, now!" Robin yells at me, but I shut his voice out and carry on. _They will thank me later. When all the shouting is out of their system._ Speeding up, I latch onto the plane using a constructed grappling hook and I reel myself in. Finally, at the tail, I slam a tracker onto the right side of the tail and let go, avoiding the heat generated from the engines. Preparing to face the wrath of the team, I go back down and land on the ground. The looks on their faces were furious.

"Disobeying an order, not cool bro." Shazam was the first to speak.

"Not to mention endangering our lives, as well." Aqualad spoke up next, however, his voice was in his usual collected tone.

"I will put this in my report." Robin adds in, barely containing his fury.

"At least tell me that whatever you did up there, was worth it." Artemis has here say.

"If it isn't, the-"

"Yeah, yeah, you will kill me." I interrupt Superboy. "I went up to the plane and placed a tracker on it, no big deal." I explain.

"No big deal! What if we weren't able to take down the other missile? This could have easily been a group of civvies." Robin growls. _The Boy Wonder does have a point there._

"Jackass." Artemis insults.

"Hey."

 **26th September, 09:00 AM - Justice League Meeting**

"As detailed in Robin's report, the Helmet of Fate was recovered by the Young Justice and two criminals arrested and sent to Belle Reve prison." Batman briefs, knowing about the other detail in Robin's report, but wanted Hal to sort it out.

"We cannot deny that this is very coincidental." Aquaman speaks up, thinking about how the same school where three heroes are studying, gets attacked.

"The only think coincidental is how all of the major attacks are being targeted at the Young Justice." Wonder Woman inserts.

"Hold on here. Are you saying that all of these attacks are specifically targeting the YJ?" Green Arrow asks.

"Yes, both me, Wonder Woman and Batman agree on this." Superman inputs, concerned at the motives behind such actions.

"These are just kids, they aren't capable of dealing with this." Flash comments, worrying about Wally.

"I agree, they can't deal with this alone." Hal Jordan agrees.

"We could just assign another member as guardian." Hawkgirl suggests, peaking the interest of the league.

"Thank you for volunteering, Hawkgirl." Batman thanks, secretely hiding his amusement.

"I'm a Thanagarian, not a babysitter." she states, clearly annoyed at Batman.

"Join the club." Black Canary smirk, earning a few wheezes of laughter from the Flash, who shuts up under her glare.

"It's settled then." Batman announces and the members begin shuffling out of the room. Before Hal could exit Wonder Woman grabs his arm and leads him back into the room. Hal is confused at her actions, but secretly hoping she will kiss him.

"We need to talk." she whispers, deflating Hal. "It's about Kyle. He is becoming a liability to the other group members." she continues.

"Woah. Kyle is a Lantern, he isn't a liability." Hal replies, slightly affronted the Amazonians bluntness.

"He is reckless and in Robin's report, he says that it could have cost the team. We can't allow that." she quietly informs. Hal sighs and stressfully rubs his forehead.

"What can we do?" he asks, knowing he wasn't going to enjoy her suggestion one bit.

"How about we talk some sense into him, together. If we judge him to be a liability, then he will be removed from the team."she puts forward.

"Why, we?" Hal questions suspiciously.

"You aren't the best role model." she bluntly explains.

"Fair enough." he gives in.


	7. Falling from Grace

**A/N**

Hey people, next chapter here, not too sure about the latest Flash episode. It was very… interesting, but also was a very weak episode. By that, I mean they are constantly making tense situations which wouldn't happen with Barry Allen. He is just too quick, but for the sake of the series, they make him stand still and take it.

Anyway, now that mini-rant is over, it's time for the new episode.

In this one, Kyle learns some new abilities, which he had no idea he could do.

We have officially hit 1,000 views and 8 reviews. I love it!. Keep them rolling in.

 **Chapter 7) Falling from grace…**

 **30** **th** **September, 1:00PM – Somewhere above Gotham**

Flying smoothly above the clouds, with Hal Jordan and Wonder Woman in tow, I wonder what this is all about. _Did Robin really do a report? Didn't think he was THAT nerdy._ Glancing to my flying companions, I change my flying position, so that I am now lying side ways to them.

Hal looks once at me and never looks again, while Wonder Woman never looks, not even once.

"Why the silent treatment?" I question and Hal face-palms.

"We told you that this is serious and we don't want you to talk." he goes on, shaking his head disappointingly at me.

"Leave it Hal, he has failed." Wonder Woman orders, disapproval clear in her voice. _Failed? Hold on, since when was this a test._ "We wanted to see if you can be quiet, when you need to be serious." she elaborates, as though guessing my question.

"Why didn't you tell me, that I need to be serious?" I ask incredulously.

"We did." they both state simultaneously.

"Oh... you did, didn't you." I clench my teeth. _Great job Kyle, way to show the League you mean business._

"Next lesson: teamwork." Hal says, after a few minutes of intense silence.

Immediately, he and the Amazonian, dive to the left and soar towards the ground. I freeze mid-air, not knowing what on earth they mean. Diving down after them, I notice the several obstacles laid out in my way, I could tell, as they had huge arrows pointing to them. Hal and Wonder Woman had already went through them and are lifting a crane. Hal with his constructs and Wonder Woman using her brute strength. _Thanks for waiting guys, I really appreciate it._

Approaching the first of the two courses. I fly through the rings placed on a few of Gothams buildings, with relative ease, I might add.

Reaching the end, I was feeling confidant, when a wrecking ball smashed me out of the sky. I shake my head after the impact and notice it swinging between the final and second to last ring . _What's that for. Let me guess... never be confidant._ Reminding myself to have a look out next time, I soar to the next obstacle in the course.

It is a large hole in the side of an abandoned building, narrow, but should be enough for me to fit through, if I stay straight. With the courage of a tiger, I fly into the hole, trying my best to keep a small and streamlined profile.

Narrowly avoiding a cart of junk in the corridor, I make it all the way to the other side.

Fist-bumping the air in victory, I fly to where Wonder Woman and Hal have already lifted the crane to it's new destination in the construction site and impatiently waiting for me to arrive. I could tell Hal was bored, as he folds his arms and taps his chest with his ring, which he is doing now.

"Fail." Wonder Woman announces as I hover closer to her, her brow furrowed.

"Oh come on." I mutter, wondering why all the bad things always happen to me. Firstly, some random person gives me a r lantern ring and runs off, ruining my life. Then, I get to Oa and are slammed down on by Kilowog, god bless his soul. After that, I was sent to this "program" for the side-kicks and I can't be bothered going through the stuff after that.

"Come on kid, it isn't all that bad." Hal assures, trying his best to play the papa-lantern, no doubt.

"Hal, he failed." Wonder Woman shoots my confidence down even further. _Does she ever smile?._ "Next task." she continues, Hal looks at me sympathetically.

Wonder Woman starts to fly away, leaving me wanting to throw her into that damned crane.

"Wait!." Hal calls out to Wonder Woman and turns back to me. "Follow me, Kyle." he gestures for me to follow and I go on with him, until we reach the abandoned building from before. Reaching around the tenth floor, he puts his hand on the wall.

"Great. Touching a wall, always makes me feel better." I sarcastically remark, rolling my eyes at him.

"Ever learned to phase?" he questions, raising an eyebrow and smirking in a typical fashion for him.

"We c-can p-phase." I stammer in astonishment.

"Hell yeah." he winks. Then, he nods at the wall and strafes back a few yards and going forward, he goes straight through the wall.

"Now that is MLL." I gasp, astonished.

Popping his head throught the wall, quite creepily, he smiles. "MLL?" he interrogates, curious, I can tell.

"Major League Lantern." I explain and he lets out an "ohhhhhhh" and puts his head back in.

"You coming or what?" I hear him call from inside the wall.

"How?" I shout at the wall, which thinking back at it, makes me look insane.

"Just will yourself through, it isn't hard." he snorts arrogantly.

"Since when did you become Guy Gardener?!" I yell back and stare at the wall. From here, I could hear Hal laugh at my joke. _I am going to get through this. I WILL get through this._ Bracing myself I charge at the wall and just before impact, I remained confidant I will get through. Opening my eyes, I see Hal stood there, proudly.

"Knew you could do it." he states and pats me on the back. "As for now, I just want you to know... this wasn't my choice. At least if you get suspended, then you can spend more time with me and John." he rubs my shoulders and goes outside. _Wait... I could get SUSPENDED!. Oh my god, I don't want to get suspended. Who will annoy Superboy all the time?._ Relaxing my mind with deep breathing, I phase through the wall, this time it was almost automatic for me.

"I'm in real trouble." I whisper to the air.

Looking down at me as I elevate to her height in the air, is Wonder Woman and her expression remains indifferent.

"We are going to Metropolis." she announces.

 **Meanwhile, in Happy Harbour**

Spending their well earned rest on the beach, is the exhausted members of Young Justice. All apart from one. The entire team is either sat on the sand, or sunbathing. Superboy, along with rest seem bored, but Connor more so. "Why do people go to beaches?" Connor finally speaks the silence that hung over the group, like a net.

"To have fun and relax." Robin sighs, turning onto his back on the bed.

"Fun? You call this fun?" Conor snorts.

"I didn't say it was fun for me, because I'm relaxing." Robin replies, adjusting his shades to fit his new position.

"What's the difference?" the clone carry on, whilst kicking at the sand, causing huge piles of it to be thrown into the air.

"Good point." Wally joins in, running in circles along the beach.

"Stop it Wally, you're getting sand everywhere." Artemis growls and Wally stops, putting his hand over his heart, dramatically apologising.

"Of course, my fine archer." he bows.

"Uh... gross." she retorts, throwing a football at the speedster.

"I wonder where Kaldur is." Megan announces out of nowhere, observing the sea, as though expecting dolphins to jump out.

"I think the better question is: Where's Kyle?" Superboy questions, turning on Robin.

"Yeah, where is he? I thought that nothing has gone wrong... yet." Artemis smirks, following Connor's suit and rounding on Grayson. Jumping in on the group hunt, the others soon do the same.

"He dug his own grave." Robin sighs, sittung up to face his bullies.

"But, you ordered the funeral." Artemis retorts, glaring at the boy wonder.

"Great comeback, babe." Wall compliments, whilst winking at the blonde.

"So disgusting." Artemis grumbles under her breath.

"Okay guys, it's not a big deal. He is only spending the day with Hal Jordan and Wonder Woman." Robin certifies.

"Player." Wally jokes, while nodding his head proudly.

"With a chance of suspension." Robin adds in, hesitantly. Gasps erupt from the team, even Connor stumbles slightly.

"What!?" the entire team yells simultaneously, Dick winces at the backlash.

"Why would you do that!?" Megan cries out.

"You had better hope that he comes back." Connor threatens.

"Or, we will suspend YOU." Artemis joins in.

"What they said." Wally chirps, just returning from speeding off and getting an ice cream.

"Guys, guys, guys. Hey, come on, it was his fault really. Don't blame this on me." Robin begs hopefully.

"We all make mistakes. I remember when I made a mistake." Megan whispers reflectfully, pondering those events.

Taking his merry time, Kaldur emerges from the ocean. Maintaining his usual lack of expression, he strolls to the group and notices the tension. "What is going on?" he sternly interrogates, his eyes sweeping over all members of the group carefully.

"He got Kyle suspended, like an ass." Artemis apprises, glaring menacingly at Robin.

"He's not suspended... at least I hope not." Robin clarifies.

"Then why did you do it?" Connor clenches his teeth.

"I had to, it's like a rule of Batman's. Team, before friends." Robin practically whimpers.

"He does have a point." Wally shrugs his shoulders.

"I agree." Kaldur nods. "Kyle must learn, that the team is more important." he continues, looking to each member every couple of words.

"Okay... now that's out of the way, anyone up for a game of volleyball?" Wally suggests, nudging Artemis in the back.

"I'm in." Megan immediately shoots up with her hand in the air.

"Yeah, I'm in." Connor nods.

"As long as I'm not on his team." Artemis points at Wally.

"Sure thing." Wally winks.

"Do you know how annoying you are?" Artemis hisses.

"I am ready, for this game of yours." Aqualad accepts and walks with Wally, Megan, Artemis and Connor to the court already set up. Megan sees that Robin is still sat down and gestures him to follow. Sighing for the third time, he climbs up and runs over.

 **Over Metropolis**

Being accompanied by Hal and Wonder Woman to Metropolis, it's safe to say that my nerves were everywhere. _This is so embarrasing. Why is happening to me? Help me... anybody._ Suddenly halting and hovering the air, Hal and the Princess wait for me to catch up. _Why are they so fast?._ Doing the same as they did, I stop and hover.

 _Let's get this over with._

Taking a deep breath, I was going to speak, but was cut off by Wonder Woman. "Final task: Trust." she illuminates me, still being a bit on the vague side.

"I don't think this should be hard for you." Hale smirks. " Simply put, talk to us." he instructs.

"About what?" I inquire.

"Anything you haven't told anyone else." Wonder Woman interprets, exhanging a look with Hal.

"Wow, that's personal." I remark and spend the next five minutes letting off the occasional "Uhmmm" or "ahhh".

"We haven't got all day, kiddo." Hal rudely interrupts. _I have to tell them, they will find out eventually, anyway._ Turning around to them and try to speak, but nothing comes out, my mouth still trying to form the words. _Who am I kidding? I can't tell them._ Hal moves hand, gesturing for me to spit it out.

"I wasn't chosen!" I blurt out, half-yelling.

Hal looks at Wonder Woman, both of them sharing the same befuddled expression. "What do you mean?" the princess raises an eyebrow.

"As in I-I was... wasn't c-chosen." I stammer, mid-panic attack.

"Okay, calm down Kyle. Deep breaths." he suggests and I follow his instructions, taking quick, but deep breaths. "Now... explain... please." he orders, backing away to give me some space.

"It all started that night. I remember that I was walking down the alley and then... some weird blue guy came up to me and practically shoved the ring in my hand." I explain.

"Blue guy?" Hal questions flabbergasted.

"Yeah, around yey high." I point out a point on my waist with my hand.

Without another word, Hal leads Wonder Woman away by the arm. Whispering furiously into her ear. _I_ _really shouldn't have told him, should I?._ After around fifteen minutes of a heated conversation, Hal flies away and Wonder Woman approaches me.

"As of now, you are on temporary leave." she informs. _They can't do this!._ "For the next two days, you will be evaluated on Oa and only then, will you return." she firmly states, but her eyes betray her words. _Don't tell me, she pities me. I am Kyle Rayner and I will not stand for this._

"Okay." I grunt, lacking the courage to say it to her face. "I'll remember this." I mutter uner my breath, when she hears, she looks like I slapped her across the face. _Wow. Did I really play that card? Kyle, you mean person._

Mockingly saluting, I take off for Oa, desperately hoping that I will come back.

 **A/N**

Hope you liked this chapter and I am sorry it's a bit shorter.

Kyle Rayner, signing off.


	8. I'm a Hero

**A/N**

 **Here is just a little thing about reviews I would like to put down, as I think you should be recognised for your reviews.**

 **Random/Unknown guest: Thanks for the support, I am glad to see you are enjoying this so far.**

 **Brodie .S: Cheers for the support, and thank you dearly for the feedback on my representation of characters; I love your review!**

 **Pattack: That's why I put it in. We all know that Kyle would think Batman has bad-*** as a power, especially after he heard them talking about him. Thanks for the comment about the fight as well, I hope it's as detailed as people like.**

 **Overall, thank you for the 1,300 views and 9 reviews.**

 **Wait ... that rhymed.**

 **In reality, I had sooo much fun writing this. As you will find out.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8) I'm a hero ... in training**

 **31st of September, 10:45AM**

 **Kyle Rayner's POV - Oa**

When I imagined the punishment that Hal had in mind, it certainly was no-where near this, and I mean no-where; this is on a whole different scale of detention. Having blasts of willpower energy launched at you, isn't what you might call painless. In fact, it hurts like hell- a worse version of hell.

Next time, I would really, really prefer to be doing something else. Maybe, running a marathon or doing laps; something other than taking part in a dogfight between a weak human and a seemingly ten-tonne Bolovaxian. Speaking of the devil, he appear beneath me and shoulder-tackles me from below. The impact knocks me from my flight and before I could adapt, he latches onto me with a chain.

 _Uh-oh, this is going to hurt ... a lot._

My prediction comes painfully true, when he yanks down forcefully. Being a human, I naturally can't overcome his strength, and he catapults me into the solid platform (we tend to use for training). As you would expect, I slam into the surface with a thud.

It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would.

That was until Kilowog lands triumphantly on my chest, crushing my poor rubs until I struggle to breathe. For a second, I wonder if he was going to get off, but he eventually does. Gasping uncontrollably, I resist the primal desire to flip the bird on the trainer.

 _You survived, Kyle. That alone deserves an applause, just like managing to shut Wally up - Impossible, but I did it eventually._

"When will you ever learn, poozer?" Kilowog sighs deeply, whilst extending his tree-trunk hand, presumably to help my whelpy being up. However, this is a lesson I learned a long time ago. Never, ever, show mercy to any opponent. Always play dirty ... which just so happens to be the way I like it.

"No idea. Although, I do think I have had enough for today, at least." I assure, putting on my best innocent smile. Grabbing his hand, (which just so happens to be his ring hand) I construct a large weight and let it go. Not expecting my innovative move, his face turns to shock as he plummets to the ground by his hand.

My totalitarian instructor's head smacks off the floor with a sickening bounce.

"You're gonna pay for that, poozer." he snarls and breaks my construct using his own will of steel.

"What's the matter? Does poor Kilo not like losing to "poozers", awww ... such a pity." I mock, much to his chagrin.

Now standing tall in front of me, his face surprisingly contorts into a ... smile? Or is it a face spasm? I really can't tell. In any of the possible scenarios, I do not, I repeat, do not want to see that again. It looks like a mixture of Emperor Palpatine's smirk and a pig about to laugh. Horrified to my very soul, I shake my head to signify my disapproval.

"What's the matter with you?" he questions rigorously, as though I did something terrible.

"Never smile again, or I swear I am leaving, and never coming back." I threaten, not even jokingly. At this point, I am beyond deadly serious; more like Batman at a funeral, serious. Kilowog only smirks further, expounding into further depths of annoying.

"I see now. It's that time of month for humans, isn't it?" he snickers in a very un-Kilowog way. It seems that large doses of me can rub off on you. Not that, that isn't good, but it's just weird on him. Kilowog is usually the definition of professional narrowness, he lives for his job, and never jokes. Although, his comment really rubbed me the wrong. Internally seething, I prepare to let rip, when I notice the amusement on his face.

" You are a d-... absolute idiot, you know that?" I growl, nearly cursing the wretched alien.

"Come on poozer, of course I know that is reserved for the females of your species. Don't be so short-fused, it will only hurt you in battle." he assures and advises, this time in his serious persona.

 _Thank you god, the effects of me is only temporary._

The veteran lantern, then lifts off gracefully into the air. Typically speaking, gracefully is not a word a person associates with Kilowog, but that time he definitely was. Gesturing for me to follow with a wave of his hand, I join him into the vast expanses of the space around Oa. As I catch up to him, I notice the central battery. In a nutshell, I would say that it is beautiful and awe-inspiring.

The Central Battery is quite literally: the engine that drives us. Every so often, it pulsates; as if it is alive and pumping willpower into the universe. This is without out a doubt, a memory I want to hold onto forever. The training, the views and the atmosphere of Oa. All of it, I will never forget.

"So, Kilo, how are you?" I interrogate. It's been so long that I need to re-integrate myself to the Corp, especially my friends- Hal, John, Kilo, and hell ... even Guy. These select people have changed my life. Whether for good, or bad, I haven't decided yet.

"Poozer, do I really need to answer that?" he counters. Despite the sassiness in his words, his tone was fairly gentle; as though he was carefully choosing his words.

"What's going on?" I ask sincerely, although if it's bad enough to effect Kilo, then I never want to know.

 _Guess all the endless fighting is taking a heavy toll ... like it has ... to all of us._

"Everything used to simple. A Lantern did one of three things in his life, including: 1) Policing their sector to the best of their abilities. 2) Defending the innocent. Finally, 3) Maintaing peace and justice in the galaxy." he begins, weariness seeping through his voice. Considering all he has seen and done, I believe he is growing tired of it. "Now, violence is everywhere. From Earth to the furthest planets, war is sparked. We no longer have the personnel to keep up our sacred duties. " he carries on. As of that moment, my world froze still.

 _I know how he feels._

 _The conflict, and the villains, will never stop. Ever._

"A couple of years ago, I could name our enemies on one hand. But now, they are everywhere. Even-"

"-in our own ranks." I interject, rudely. However, he doesn't seem to mind, instead, he nods.

"Fear can corrupt even the most willed Lanterns." he agrees, looking around him at our fellow member flying by. "Never give in to fear, Kyle. It only breaks you." he continues, a glint of determination in his eyes.

"As long as we stay strong, and never give up, we will always win. That's the way of a Green Lantern." I recall the piece of information I last procured from him. It seems that it has been so long since that day, it's mind-blowing how far I have come.

And so far, I have yet to go.

"That's right, poozer. Haha, we will make an honour guard out of you yet." he chuckles at my mini-speech; he shouldn't have done that.

"Ready for round 2?" I challenge, whilst mocking him with my hand, telling him to bring it on.

"Very funny, poozer... I always knew humans liked getting beat." he accepts, and crosses arms patronisingly.

 _Let's dance, big-guy._

* * *

 **1st October, 3:00PM**

 **Oa**

Of all the people I could have been assigned to, he has to be the worst. This particular Lantern holds great confidence, so much that it twists into absolute arrogance. Arrogance that is dumbfoundedly annoying. To the point where I am consider being pro-active and attack the fool, before he down-right destroys anything left of my fragile mindset; which is also very much damaged and annoying in its own right.

This is Lantern- pretentious and brash, is Guy Gardner himself. From his posture, you could see the self-esteem flowing through his body, like psychological water. To my amazement and nerves, he simply floats their cockily, as though I should bow down to him.

 _Not a chance._

A tense and un-nerving silence envelops us, neither man backing down. The wait feels like a lecture from Batman; stifling and un-ending. Until Guy seemingly got bored and he sighs dramatically. "Guy Gardener doesn't have time for this." Guy groans. "He has to be out there ... saving the wide, wide world." he informs, casually talking about himself in the third-person.

"Because Guy always saves the galaxy, doesn't he?" I sarcastically scoff. This leads him to menacingly glare at me; not in a way Batman would, but instead to assert his dominance over me. Staring at him right back in his eyes, I smirk. "At least, that's not what I have seen so far." I snicker in his face. On one hand, it seemed to have no effect, but on the other hand, I watch as his lip curls into an innocent smile.

"Look who it is: 00-smartass." he burst out laughing, barely taking in any breaths whilst doing so.

 _Can he be any more annoying? People say that I am deeply annoying at a molecular level._

After a few bouts of sudden amusement, he let's off one last snort. Then, he beams at me, eyes flickering up and down me every so often- very creepily, I might add. "You aren't much, are you, kid?" he asks, although I presume it to be a rhetorical question. "Ahhh, I'm just messing with ya, kid. I never disrespect anyone I don't like ... most of the time." he waves away the tense situation, with a literal flick of the wrist.

"Soooo ... what are we doing today?" I change the subject as quickly as possible. If I didn't, it would have been possible for him to launch into a tirade about Hal or the League. A part of me feels sorry for him. Being rejected by the League must have been difficult for him, for two seconds altogether. Why did they reject him? The arrogance? the sarcasm? ... my money is on Hal and Jon rejecting him themselves- they never did like Guy.

And for good reason.

"Today, I am going to teach you about the best role model you can have, his names is..." he stops. No doubt, he wants me finish his sentence to boost his already inflated ego.

Sighing, (ready to up and leave) I decide to give the over-grown child his milk. "You." I answer. Biting back the urge to add more onto my response, I force a smile that only just manages to appear on my face.

"Of course, it's me. Who else would be a fantastic role-model to a young Greenie like you?" he asks to no-one in particular. Guy never ceases to stop surprising me-the humour, his dedication to his substantial ego and his unfledging desire to a celebrity- all contained in one human being.

"As I was saying ... If you be me ... well, be LIKE me, as you will never be as good as me ... you won't go wrong." he assures, looking proudly into space. He really needs to get himself checked out for a mental illness, because that is not right. Continued to gaze at the stars, it appears that he has completely forgot about my pathetic existence. Saving me the trouble of listening to him rant and rave all day. No joke, Hal told me a story about that.

At the same time, I know that there must be some redeeming qualities in him. Otherwise, the ring wouldn't have chosen him, although it would be funny if his ring malfunctioned and picked him instead.

 _Says the guy that was chosen by a little blue guardian._

Thinking about it now, was I selected for a reason, or was it pure chance.I have a feeling this question will haunt my mind for a long time to come, serves me right for coming up with it.

Suddenly, Guy swerves around, the same look of confidence on his face. "You know... I could show you some smooth moves." he informs slowly, wanting to savour the moment that I accept help from him.

"Sure, why not?" I groan, but secretly, I actually want to see what he has in store for me. Have I learnt everything I need to know? Or, has Hal been holding me back? John, well John, I have no idea what he does. Motioning for me to follow him, I am let to the training platform for the second time in two days.

" _Can you hear me?_ " Guy asks once we reach the platform, and gently touch down. For a second, my mind seized up. Did he just telepathically tell me something?

" _W-Wait ... are you a Martian?_ " I think, incredulously. At this point, my mind equals severely blown.

" _Really? Martian? Believe it or not, there are obviously things the GREAT Hal Jordan hasn't told you._ " he remarks. It's remarkable how similar it is to the telepathic link Miss. M puts between us. " _Listen up, kid. Guy Gardener is going to teach you how to be a hero._ " he winks at me, with a smirk on his face.

Then, he disapears out of thin air; my eagerness is replaced by an unshakeable nihilism. " _Where the heck are you?!_ " I telepathically yell, seeing the annoying brat is nowhere to be found. After a few seconds, space itself seems to sigh, before Guy pops up in front of my eyes.

" _Invisibility is my favourite past-time. For a lantern as willed as me, it's really, really easy. So, I think you might struggle a bit._ " Guy comments insolently. Sometimes, I have a feeling that Kilowog would kill him in a heartbeat.

I'm starting to think the same thing.

* * *

 **1st October, 6:00PM**

 **Oa**

For the next three hours of my down-trodden life, I was subjected to a game of hide and seek; practically ruining my enjoyment levels for the day. Guy and a very reluctant me, took it in turns to attempt to hide from the other, using our shared skillsets- invisibility, Light refraction- basically the whole lot.

Furthermore, he didn't take into account that I am struggling with my abilities. On the other hand, I have improved; my skillset has expanded and I generally feel better about myself. Resisting the urge to scream in victory, I tap a point in open space, and Guy emerges.

"Gotcha." I state dramatically. Guy shakes his and face-palms; not at me, but his own failure to succeed at beating a newbie lantern like me.

"Gotta hand it to you, I am impressed... still not as spectacularly awesome as me, though. Nobody is THAT good." he responds, shaking off my triumph with his own bigotry. "Some day, I want to get you to a club, or something like that." he randomly briefs, whilst gazing into the atmosphere.

"A club?" I literally raise an eyebrow at his suggestion. Is he really that stupid, because we can't just walk into a bar; we have an important job to do.

"Yes, a club- full of women, and booze- just the way I like it." he elaborates, a touch of nostalgia being picked up from his tone.

"Ok then, have fun with that." I retort. However, being the Guy Gardener, he doesn't pay attention enough to hear my words.

"Friend of yours?" Guy answers back, still observing the atmosphere. Until now, I believed he was staring at the stars, although now, I see a green aura flowing off a fellow peer heading towards us. "Maybe he's here to congratulate me on my amazing-ness." Guy reasons in his own way; once again blinded by his blooming ego. Carefully observing the incoming lantern, he eventually reaches us. Instead of greeting Guy, he moves straight past him, and up to me.

"Hello?" I tentatively imply, hoping that whatever he had to say isn't that serious.

"Greetings, Lantern Rayner." the squid-like alien cordially greets.

 _He's being nice._

 _This has to be bad._

"An ally named Batman requests your presence in Bialya, you are ordered to meet up with a so-called "bio-ship" in American airspace." he continues, still speaking in a polite and well-mannered tone,as if I am going to explode at any second.

"Why have I been requested to Bialya?" I question curiously, wanted to know the details, before I dive head first into this.

"To acquire LexCorp weapons, and arrest a known fugitive known as Ra's al Ghul, that is all I have been told by Lantern Stewart." he bluntly replies, to his credit. No hedging around the fence with this lantern.

"Better get going, the Bat hates lateness. After all this time, I still don't understand why he hates me, I mean, what is there not to like?" Guy butts in.

"Don't make me answer that."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I really hope I did a good presentation of Kilowog and Guy Gardener, review how you think I did . Also, don't be afraid to critisise me, lol.**

 **I did this chapter dedicated to Oa, as I don't think the Green Lantern's are ever done justice. Everything is about Superman and Batman's struggles, that we forget about how others are struggling. For example, the corp are fractured and it's a very turbulant time for them. They have no idea who is is friend or foe anymore. Add in the likes of Hal shrugging off his duty to the corp, and mostly staying on Earth, they lack a role model.**

 **Sinestro used to be that figure of admiration, so, when he turned to fear, it ruined the corp.**

 **Anyway, sorry for the deeper meaning and mini-rant.**

 **Kyle Rayner, out.**


	9. Ra's the ghoul

**A/N**

 **Well hello again my dainty friends.** **Oh,and the 11 favourites and 1, 600 views!**

 **Once again, I would like to thank all of my viewers, favour..itors? and reviewers, for joining the Kyle army.**

 **TheMcCoy: Thanks for the encouragement and support, it means the world to me.**

 **patattack: Cheers for the invaluable advice, I will try my best to work on Guy Gardener, and thank you for the support of the Kilowog scenes.**

 **Ready for a new chapter?**

* * *

 **Chapter 9) Ra's the ghoul...**

 **Kyle's POV; 2nd October, 12:00PM- Bialya**

 _Well... this is awkward._

That is precisely how I would describe this tense predicament, but then again, he wasn't on the receiving end of the death glares- the ones that poor Robin is being subjected to. If you think I am angry at the kid, guess gain. Yeah, he filed a complaint about me- the twerp- but he also gave me the wake up call I severely needed in these past months. My time spent with Hal opened my previously (figuratively) closed eyes, allowing me to see the truth; allowing me to open a new chapter of my story.

Let's call it "Kyle grows up chapter", or even "Kyle is mentally talking to himself, like an old man" either way, I sound like an idiot, as always.

Thinking the guy needs a break, I decide to interfere with a timely conversation. "So... how are you guys?" I ask, apprehensively; who knows when this will all blow back at when I take counter-measures, I always get a backlash, only Wally seems to enjoy talking to me.

"Fine." Superboy gruffly huffs, clearly bored and anxious to smash the bad guys up. Still, it's better than him taking it out on a certain Green Lantern, right? Or... maybe not. At these points in our tenuous, strained relationship, I tend to accept his anti-social attitude.

"All is good here, man." Kid Flash speaks up after letting the silence choke us once more. As for Wally, he usually stays quiet in these types of situations, out of fear of us turning on him. Which I might say is not hard to do, considering he _never_ shuts up. At least I can for a few minutes, at best. Here's to the undying spirit of our local speedster, Casanova, and idiot- all in one ginger haired package.

"Me too. I think we are all glad to have you back." Megan joins in with a beaming smile on her face, the type that either makes you cringe, or lifts your spirits up. Despite the awkwardness of our conversation, Miss M never seems to pick up on it... must be her naïve nature.

"Highly debatable." Artemis snarks with her usual unfaltering sassiness. Even after the numerous attempts by me to become buddies with her, she remains ever so snippy.

"Ouch, such pain you have just caused me, I don't think that... I will survive the journey; Wally, please put something good on my tombstone, like, loving hero, handsome hunk... or... died tragically." I theatrically mock her, earning chuckles from Wally. However, the rest of the team aren't impressed by my oscar-nominated performance.

 _Okay... so maybe I haven't changed, that much._

"Kyle!" Aqualad snaps, but retaining his expressionless stature, and appearance. "Might I remind you all that we have a vital mission on our hands, one that rests upon our shoulders, and our shoulders only. LexCorp must be stopped; so must the criminal, Ra's al Ghul." Kalder adds on, setting us into line with his authority voice- the one that we have all been reared into respecting, and obeying.

When he finishes, we are all put down into another spiralling stair of silence. Never have I been more inclined to shut up, although, who cares? Kyle does what he wants. "Rob?" I call the Boy Blunder, fixing him with a glare, but it's a fake. Of course, he doesn't know that.

"Yeahhh." the second half of the dynamic duo answers my call, caution laced onto his soft tone.

"All is cool, man." I quickly turn the glare into a grin, taking him aback slightly. Then, Robin exhales deeply, as though he was holding it with anticipation, and nervousness. "Seriously, I'm okay with you. You actually did me a slight favour, believe it, or not; helped me see Oa again, _and_ to learn some pretty awesome new tricks.

"Oh my, how perfect." Artemis interferes sarcastically before Robin has any chance to speak.

"Very funny. Now shush, or I will tell Wally that you like him." I retort, raising an eyebrow at the blonde archer.

"You wouldn't." she snarls. Even to an emotionally deficient boy like me, the severe blushing unfolding before my eyes is enough to tell me that something is going- namely to do with a certain speedster.

"That's where you are wrong, my dearest Artemis. As you well know... hell yeah, I would!" I end up yelling the last part, embarrassingly enough. Despite her best attempts to stand strong against me, she turns around stroppily in her chair- now facing the window- at this.

"Kyle, please refrain from shouting. It is an all our interests to not be detected, due to your loudness; _all_ of our interests." Kaldur blankly suggests, sticking to his never ending version of Mace Windu from Star Wars.

 _No problemo,_

 _No problemo,_

 _No probl-_

 _Ohhh Oa, I can't do this._

"Are we there yet?" I sigh heavily, enough to get the attentions of the team, but not too much, making it sound forced.

"Kyle." Superboy says my name through clenched teeth, signalling that he is about to burst in a fit of rage that Atrocitous would be put to shame by.

"Connor." I reply, very, very, patronisingly.

"Shut the hell up!"

* * *

After the quite censor-worthy moments that followed that outburst, we get dropped into a forest of trees next to the royal palace in Bialya. If only we were here for a holiday, as it's actually serene here, with a calmness that betrays the obvious dark nature of this rogue nation.

This country has it all- Crime, riots and unrest, and dictatorship- in surplus; can't get much better than this, believe me.

In utter silence, we sneak in through the open top balconies that lie on the perimeter of the palace. Landing down with Wally and Artemis, I join them on the ground. "Sweet crib." Wally comments, probably amazed by the architecture of the palace.

Sighing at his comment, Robin shakes his head disapprovingly. "This is not a _crib_ , this is designing at it's finest- flawless, and remarkable- just the way it was made to be." he continues on, shaking me and Wally out of our daziness.

"Nerd." I mutter under my breath. Not too surprisingly, the (other) boy in yellow looks flabbergasted.

As we all enter the massive palace of wonders, I only just catch Robin asking Miss M "Am I a nerd?" before I exit my hearing range.

Sometimes, I wish I had the hearing of a Kryptonian, or the psychic powers of a Martian. All I am is an average teenager that wears a ring.

Take away the ring, and I'm nothing. Or, nothing worth thinking about anyway; whether I like it, or not, this is my life now, best to start getting on with it. " _Kyle, can I talk to you_?" a voice emerges into my mind. Since we only know one telepath, I'm assuming that's it is her.

Proceeding to stroll along, the others soon overtake me without noticing. When they- mostly Superboy- reached out of hearing range, we began the conversation she apparently needed. "Hey, Megan. What do ya need?" I commence the talk with sincerity.

"I...I...I-I want to talk about Connor." she stumbles, but eventually spits it out. However, it doesn't stop me from being deeply shocked. Still, I motion for her to carry on with a sharp nod; the discomfort is apparent on her features. "I think that I... like him." she states tentatively.

"You mean like, or like, like?"I delve deeper, not being as clear as I had hoped it would come out.

"I do not know how to explain it, I want to, but I just can't." she grumbles, I could hear some self-loathing in there.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, we all have these types of problems." I assure the Martian, just spitballing in an attempt to at least provide some sort of tangible emotional support. On the other hand, I can't say how I came up with that first.

"Really?"she perks up, a sprinkle of hope in her eyes. It was then I realised that I also have a longing for someone, but unfortunately, this particular person is far out of reach. Who knows how the person would react if I told them.

"Yeah, so don't worry. Whoever you are- Human, or Martian- you always have that one person you desire above all else. Sometimes, it's just about how far you are willing to go, to get that special person." I trail off with some nonsense I remembered. That piece, I got from the best place for relationship advice.

Thank you... Kardashians.

"I knew I could count on you, Kyle." Miss M affirms her belief, and zooms off ahead; leading me to jump into gear, and fly after her. A minute of catching up later, we arrive at the rear of the group again, who seems to barely notice our absence.

All of a sudden, Robin slams his feet down, and pushes Wally back, just as he was about to step into a long hallway ending with an ominous wooden door. "What the hell, Rob!" Kid Flash exclaims as he rubs his chest, exactly where the lightening bolt is.

"Shusshhh !" Robin silences with a noise that was quiet, and demanding at the same time. The group goes eerily silent, as Robin brings his finger to his lips and tries to listen for something. "You hear that?" he then interrogates the group. Collectively, we all exchange a look of confusion.

"I've got superhearing, and I didn't hear a thing." Superboy answers mockingly, ignoring the dirty stare Robin gave him.

"That's the point, _Superboy._ This place is completely silent: no guards, or even mice scuttling around." he elaborates, making most of us go *ohhhh*.

"Guess it's our lucky day, for a change." KF snorts, proceeding to bend his knees.

"No, Ki-"

Before Aqualad could halt the speedster, Wally had already sprinted straight for the door, setting off a blaring alarm that pierces my eardrums like knives.

 _Well done, Wally- a terrific job._

This is all my mind would allow under the constant alarm, shattering any train of thought that I could muster; effectively making my ring useless, as it's dependant on my mind. However, the suffering doesn't live much longer, when Artemis shoot an arrow into the power box, sending out a small shock. As the noise ends with a whine, I carefully check my ears for any blood. Finding not a single speck, relief tidal waves over me, threatening to make me pass out from the vertigo.

"Kid Flash, perhaps exercise caution next time." Aqualad advises, rubbing her ears in the same way that I did. Worst of all hit was Megan, who is closing her eyes and gasping every few seconds. Running over, I fret over my friend.

"You okay, Miss M?" I ask, soothingly rubbing her temples.

"Headache, that's all." she quietly responds, no doubt due to the obvious throbbing pain she is feeling. Even with her assurance, this migraine could prevent her from using her powers for a short while. Instead, I nudge her over to Robin by the shoulders. The acrobat immediately sets about working on his patient, flashing a light in her eyes, and etc.

Giving us absolutely no reprieve, ninjas emerge from the other end of the hall, guns raised. Shielding my comrades with a constructed shield, the bullets harmlessly drop to the ground upon impact. "Kyle! Connor! Artemis! Protect us while we help Megan, so she can establish a link between us.' the de-facto leader, Aqualad, sternly our recognition, we charge the ninjas- me shielding Artemis from any stray fire with armour I wrapped around her.

Connor smashes into a large group of them with a massive leap, nearly smacking his head off the palace ceiling. Artemis fires an assortment of arrows into the cluster with pinpoint accuracy, shocking some, and darting others. Upon reaching attack distance, I construct a hand, and bring it horizontally across them, knocking them down like skittles.

Within mere seconds, the humans were unconscious or mildly wounded- a few sporting broken bones. Connor expresses his gratification with a short huff, and Artemis simply walks away to go see the others. Furthermore, even I felt satisfied with the bodies of the League slumped against cracks in the walls.

Just as I was about to rejoin the others, something tackled Superboy sending both of them through the wall and outside. "Uh-oh." I barely got out before I was also sent to the ground, causing a splitting pain to run down my spine. Looking up, the figure of Sportsmaster stands menacingly above me. For a second, I swear I heard a chuckle coming from behind his mask, but it was short-lived when he throws a live grenade at me; it lands perfectly on my flat chest.

 _Don't even bother Kyle, that thing won't kill you._

Grinning cockily, I patiently wait for it to go off. Then, it clicks, but instead of a loud boom, it releases some kind of gas into the air.

 _Strolling into a room of yellow- tick, tock, tick, tock- goes the clock._

 _The room is swallowed by nothing, it's wall folded into the abyss like a carpet._

 _Down goes me, finally free._

 _Reaching the bottom, nothing is there._

 _Where am I?_

 _Head spiralling into blurs, no faces, no voices, and no identity._

Wait... WTF.

At last I gasp out, my head reeling with dizziness. Apparently that gas is a very... potent hallucinogen. Gotta hand it to the villain, he knew his stuff; weirdly enough, somehow he must have known that I am cocky enough to let it blow up.

Shaking the remnants of drowsiness from my head, I slowly pick myself up from the cold, hard ground- cracking my spine from the awkward position that I was lying in. The deathly silence that surrounds me is unnerving, and arouses concern.

Where are my friends? No sounds of battle can be heard, only the breaths I constantly take. Glancing around, a large hole in the wall becomes apparent, sitting there innocently. Without further delay, I leap out of the hole and onto the courtyard below.

Menacingly cackling, a shadowy figure appears from the shadows of the moon- clad in emerald robes, he looks like he would be found in a fairytale. Anxiety erupts within my heart, as the tall and slender man wields a blade; a blade coated with... crimson blood.

"You shouldn't have come here, foolish children. Alas, respect is given to where it is due- well done for making it this far." the elderly man states, all the while inspecting his blade with a morbid curiosity. "You shall make for an excellent opponent." he adds on, this time examining me from head to toe.

"Eyes up here, old timer!" I redirect. The gangly, although eloquently dressed man, turns red at this insult.

"Show some respect, _boy_ , before I teach you some." he verbally spits at me, edging towards me, one carefully placed step at a time.

"I doubt that. After all, I've never been the greatest of students, perhaps Jet Li will take you up on the offer." I snicker, floating dominantly in the air.

"Doubt, leads to failure." he responds, strafing to the side, and revealing a limp body on the ground... Artemis' body. A wide stain of red pooling around her stomach area, several areas dried and encrusted. "Such a formidable opponent, it was a shame she was beaten." he continues on, a disgustingly genuine honesty radiating from his posture.

"You are sooooo, going to regret that... big time!" I growl, barely containing my righteous wrath.

"Prove it." the obviously confident fighter challenges, assuming a battle stance- feet shoulder width apart, and knees bent slightly.

"This is going to be fun." I darkly remark, flinging my body to collide head-on with the old man.

 _This is for Artemis._

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 **A/N**

 **Hope you guys liked this chapter, although, I'm not sure if I got Ra's al ghul right, or not.**


	10. Fight, or Flight

A/N

 **Heyya peeps, ready for another chapter? This book has reached 2,000 views! That's absolutely awesome!**

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* * *

 **Chapter 10) Fight, or Flight...**

 **Aqualad's POV- Fifteen minutes prior**

Glancing nervously over my shoulder at the prone figure of Kyle, I melt away any doubts that had started to seep into my thoughts. No matter how cruel it seems, Kyle would want us to carry on with the mission, but truth be told, he is a tough warrior, and will survive. The same cannot be said for the countless over lives in our hands, who depend on us to end LexCorps reign of terror. We will destroy those missiles, because as long as we draw breath, nothing can stop us.

When I first encountered this unorthodox team, my only wish was to be professional, and do what is best for justice... however, I have discovered over time that I am overly fond of my companions. Superboy- a mighty powerhouse, who hides a deep love of the team. Miss Martian- her naïve nature makes her uncontrollably likeable. But, both Robin and Artmeis are unique, in that they both pursue a path of the dignified soldier. Then, you have Wally and Kyle, no words can be used to describe their unusual behaviour, except joyful. In situations that normally break most beings, they both thrive and see the brightest side of the moment.

Sometimes, I wish that I share their enthusiasm, but I consider myself realistic; realistic in terms of the severity of the impasse, whereas those two are pleasantly optimistic about the littlest of matters. Still, it can prove to be a unnecessary burden at times.

"Aqualad!" Robin abruptly focuses me with a snap of his voice, directly taking control of the circumstances in my brief absence. Nodding to him in acknowledgment, I continue sprinting down the vast hallway, heading to where the stockpile is supposedly located- Robin, and Miss Martian on my tail- followed closely by the bounding Kryptonian, shaking the earth with every waking leap.

" _Nearly there people, just try to keep up._ " the boy wonder assures, putting his head down, and setting the pace for the rest of us. For a non-powered human, his elegance and speed impresses me, his motions are precise and thoroughly controlled, as though a constant dancing rhythm.

" _Shut up Robin, you're starting to sound like Wally, and you know what I do to annoying things._ " Superboy telepathically growls, the threat being carried over by the mental link. It's still remarkable to me that Connor hasn't grasped the concept of etiquette, but then again, he barely has any manners at all. Compared to most beings, he could be classed as barbaric.

" _Yeah, sure, keep telling yourself that. Maybe, one day you will... grow up._ " Robin viciously counters, directly assaulting Superboy's odd aging process. By that, I mean how he doesn't seem to be a one year old, then we discovered that due to the cloning, he will sadly retain his physical appearance- until the day he meets his end.

" _Shut up! Before I make you!_ " Connor furiously retorts at the sneer, but managing to maintain an appropriate level of control over his body. Secretely, I am very proud of him for this, because at least he is moving in the right direction, albeit taxingly.

" _Focus on the task at hand- we can deal with this problem later, whereas this, we cannot._ " I decisively intervene, cutting off any more potential squabble that the two may hold. Now is not the moment to be foolish as to argue with our peers; now, is the time to do what we intended to , it is disturbing that dissent in the ranks is still occurring between my fellow members, as that is unacceptable, and needs to adapt.

Finally ending their dispute, we rush to the inner sanctum of the palace, determined to wipe out any threat that enters our immediate proximity. Once we arrive at the impressive chamber, the first thing to be fully noticed is the dirty green cases on the ground, all of them many metres wide. Perhaps this is the sole target we have been assigned to sabotage, but this all seems too... easy. No mission worth it's risk is ever this simple, unless it is a trap. Then again, the trap may have already been sprung. Or, this isn't as welcoming as it seems.

" _Watch your backs, this could be a trap._ " the young teen next to me advises, whilst examining the open space in front of us- The room is wide, and long, with an open top which makes little trickles of moonlight poke in.

" _Maybe we should rethink our strategy._ " I calmy suggest, unfazed by the bizareness of the apparent ease facing us.

" _You kidding me? Just wait here, I'll handle this._ " Superboy confidently smirks, leaving us, and strolling up to the awaiting box. The only thought that is running through my mind at this moment is:

" _what a fool._ " I muse, astounded as to the behaviour of the Boy of Steel. Unluckily, I momentarily forget about the telepathic link, and my thought is brought across.

" _Connor, I think that Kaldur is right, you should really come back here._ " Megan agrees, begging the clone to return to us willingly, however I know that her plea is falling on purposely deaf ears. Superboy is not known for his ability to follow orders, or listen to concerned allies.

" _Yeah right._ " he snorts, shaking his head at her suggestion. " _Since when do I run away from anything?_ " he carries on, sauntering arrogantly to the cache, and ignoring our further attempts to reason with his unreasonableness.

Out all of sudden... nothing happens.

All of the tension evaporates as Connor flips open the stockpile, reveling at the detonators within, designed by LexCorp in case their weapons are ever uncovered. . _If only we knew where the missiles are._ Picking it up, Superboy instantly presses the button.

 _This will not be good._

 **Kyle's POV**

Soaring fist first toward the slender warrior, I experience the weirdest sensation ever- an interesting sense of... duty- something that I usually never feel. But with this man, I feel as if it's my sacred duty to end his villany, before anybody else suffers harm. Still, the way the decrepit man is smirking at me puts me off edge, in the middle of a fight, no-one should be doing that.

Unless, you know something the other doesn't.

But... what?

 _Focus on the fight, Kyle!_ I force my body and mind to direct all attention to the Ra's, who is still swaying in the wind with his hands placed casually behind his , I realised why. Attempting to stop mid-air, it was too late; with a swift movement no-one his age could possible imagine, he strafes to the left and observes me soaring by. Next, he snatches my ankle out of mid-air, before pulling down, making me smack onto the ground.

Groaning at the wrecking pain flowing through my stomach, I heave my body the ground with a grunt. _That's it, this old creep is going back into his coffin._ Raising my fist up to attack the man, I spin around and see he is frightfully gone. _Well, I guess Batman had to get it from somewhere, right?_ Grasping my ribs, I sharpen my human senses to catch this guy in the act.

However, I miserably fail, and I am sent to the ground again by a sudden sucker-punch to the base of my skull. That hurts as much as Superboy's slaps, which is saying something about the roughness of this old-timer. Squinting the wash away the blurriness invading my eyesight, some inner part of my brain whispers to me that he is directly behind me, so, I instinctively swing my hand up. Surprisingly, I do it just quick enough to whack him in the chin. When I dart up, and turn around, I could practically smell the shock coming from him.

"Sorry about that. My mother would kill me if she found out that I just smacked an OAP. But, that felt really, really brilliant." I provoke, putting on a face of mocking concern. "Need any help with that?" I push further, hoping that he will lose his well controlled temper soon.

"It is not your mother killing you, that you should be worried about, child." he maliciously threatens, wiping a bead of blood coming from his mouth. "Shall we continue?" he challenges, and adopts a battle stance, again. This time it more genuine, perhaps realising that I am not a pushover. Or at least, he has less doubts.

I'm going to teach this guy that he is deadly wrong- nobody can beat a Green Lantern, as long as they know they will win.

And, oh, I _know_ that Ra's doesn't stand a chance against me.

Changing my pose into the typical Lantern stance - stood with feet shoulder lengths apart, with a straight back, and ring hand pointing to Ra's- I ready my imagination to come up with an ingenious way to battle this monster. Without any more tension, I launch chains of will towards him, slithering across the ground. Although Ra's al Ghul swipes at them with his sword, and breaks them into little pieces, I saw a slight pinch in his expression: he knows that I have the flexibility factor.

Deciding to await him this time around, he accepts the challenge and bounds towards me, heading in from several angles at varying times, looking to confuse me. Keeping my gaze fixed on his erratic movements, I construct a sword and shield, prepping for close combat.

Finally reaching me, we engage in a vicious battle of skill and brutality. Even though he has he countless years of experience on me, somehow I am managing to hold on, even if barely. "Struggling?" Ra's taunts in the midst of the slashes and parries.

"Nah, you?" I chuckle, much to the elders annoyance. Upping the intensity, he switches tactics, now coming in with rapid lunges, which I have to quickly evolve to. However, I don't do it hastily enough, and he contacts with my leg, shallowly cutting open my left thigh- my armour just stopping the blow.

Being given this new pain, I grit my teeth together and fight against it, as it increases heavily over the short period of time since I received it; slowly etching away at my energy and pain tolerance. "Need... a... breather?" I sassily question him, whilst blocking another lunge with my shield. I hiss as he manages to slide in my blade, hitting my chest and breaking apart the material, making an obvious hole.

"Do you ever shut up? I have seen... children... with less talk in them as you." Ra's snorts, grunting with the effort of his next attack.

"Sorry man, I'm afraid that... that's classified for..he time being. Do you...mind coming back in the next... five years... or so?" I laugh in short bouts, being cut off by my lack of breath, at this moment in time. With a roar, he slams his sword into my shield with a slash, forming a huge crack down it's centre. Coming to terms that it can't take another blow like that, I let it go and attack with my sword, using two hands.

Furthermore, I go on the offensive, hacking wildly and without a general target- a rookie mistake- capitalised upon by my opponent. Turning my mistake to his expert advantage, he opens a gap in my defence by trapping my arm with his, holding it in place with a ruthless grip.

Agony cripples me, as his sword breaks through the hole in my armour, going straight out the other side. Slumping to the ground with no feeling in my body, I gaze up at the victor. "It seems that brains beat brawn, doesn't it?" he sinisterly grins, straight down at me.

"I wouldn't say that you have brains, because you are also a fool." I gasp from the searing pain in my chest and leg... make that my entire body.

"Oh. Do please enlighten me, young hero." he sarcastically snickers, pacing in front of me. "Let me have a gander. Your pathetic little friends are here to get the detonator, am I correct?" he presumes, my silence agrees with him.

"Of course they are, douche. Why else would we come to this hell hole, to watch the sand roll over the dunes?" I chortle at his assumption, anybody with a brain cell could figure that out.

"So, you wouldn't mind me telling you that the missiles are beneath this very palace, would you? Beneath the detonator, in fact." he answers callously, sighing deeply to himself. Does that mean they will die?... No, the team is too stubborn to go out like that. This man is under-estimating us, like every other villain does. _I'm going to make sure he pays for it, dearly. "_ We will make sure that _all_ see the light." he concludes.

 _The light?_

Summoning whatever will I have left in the deep expanses of my soul, I focus it all into my chest. A surge of energy hits me, as I feel the wound slowly closing, but I doesn't last long, stopping before I fully heals. On the other hand, that is all I need. Constructing a pen, I send it into Ra's sword hand, making him squeal and making his weapon clatter to the ground.

Smiling at the moment, I leap up and punch him at the bridge of his nose, with enough force to knock him out. Looking down at his unconscious rag doll, one solitary phrase comes to my thoughts. "It seems the pen is mightier that the sword." I say, blowing a raspberry at the elderly man. Am I full of regret for knocking out an old man, like that? Maybe... nahh, of course not.

My moment of victory is spoiled by a large explosion that ripples through the air, stumbling me back a few steps. Momentarily aghast, I retain my calm, and glance to the epicentre of the blast. That is when I noticed the air shimmering ever so gently. It has to be what I think it is.

Surely enough, the bioship emerges from the skies above me, it's sight a welcoming gesture; it's sound the relaxing tidal wave, touching the golden beach. "Took them long enough, didn't it?" I mutter, amused at the timing of the unexpected arrival. Before I soared to join the ship, a pang contorts my face. For some odd reason, I have a feeling that I have missed something. It's annoying, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is.

 _Oh no... Artemis!_

Running headless in all directions, I come across the limp carcass of the archer- unmoving, and ghostly pale. Praying to whatever god is presiding over us, I spurt to her, instantly checking for any vital signs. _Come on! Come on!_ I frantically pound on her chest, performing what CPR usually looks like; I never took the Oa class... if there was one. "Don't die, you insignificant, conniving, heartless, little bi-"

"What was you about to call me!?" she suddenly springs into a seating position, and yells furiously in my face.

"Bi-eautiful." I quickly respond, hoping that this would be the end of her wrath. To my surprise, she only growls and falls back into a prone position, staring at the bioship above us. _That was a close one. Imagine if I actually said it._ I joke with myself, whilst internally combusting with relief. "Well, that was anti-climactic, huh." I crow at the startling situation- Artemis is alive, I'm alive, and hopefully everybody else is alive- not too bad, for a days work.

"I'm keeping my eyes on you, Lantern." she weakly jests, coughing mid-threat. Holding onto her, I blast off into the air, and fly to the spectacular sight of the bio-ship. It never ceases to amaze me, how that thing always turns up at the perfect interval. _Boy, am I glad to see it now._

Entering the flying machine from the temporarily opened hatch, I slowly place her aching body into her seat. "What the hell! Artemis!" Kid Flash exclaims at the way I put her down, no doubt also regarding the dried patch of crimson just below her girly-bits. After, he dashes over and commences touching her all over the place- ears, legs, and fingers.

"Wally! Wally! WALLY!" she screams at the probing, giving him a seriously creepy glare. Backing away apprehensively, he slumps back into his assigned chair, avoiding all the concerned eyes facing his way. "Can we leave now?" she begs, tapping the floor with her feet, impatiently.

"Let's go." Miss Martian accepts, directing the ship back home. The usual silence follows, until the nagging question I have becomes to much to bear.

"Whyareyoustillalive?" I blurt out, shifting uncomfortably in my swivel chair. The team all look severely confused, so I'm assuming that I spoke too fast again; oops, my fault. "Why are you still alive?" I coolly interrogate once I calmed down.

"Gee, thanks, Kyle, great to know you care." she acerbically answers, shaking her head all the way through.

"Not the best thing to say." Robin jovially interferes, gladly snapping up the chance to get one back at me. _Think of something witty to say... nope, I have absolutely nothing._ Instead, I purse my lips and endure through the inevitable showdown.

 _I hate my life._

* * *

 **A/N**

 **As I stated before, I am now a potential beta reader, so PM, or review with your request, and I will answer ASAP.**


	11. Lost in translation

**A/N**

 **Hello once again, my friends. A huge shoutout for all 2,600 views! and the latest reviews, including:**

 **Guest: Don't worry, Kyle's background will be explored later on.**

 **Elvisfonz23: Thanks for the feedback, and no I'm not going give anything away to do with Artemis, and Kyle. Just keep hoping okay.**

 **patattack: Cheers for the compliments, I'm glad you liked the fight and the banter too.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11) Lost in translation...**

 **Hal's POV**

Out of all the painstakingly awful scenarios that had run through my head, this... has to be so bad, I didn't even think it to be possible. The other ideas I had were all easily blown away by this. How has it come down to this? Every waking moment I have "mentored" Kyle, I never believed this could ever be plausable- a trial... with one of the possible outcomes... getting kicked out of the corp.

Nevertheless, I have all the faith that Kyle will be fine, I mean, he has proven his mettle time, and time again; YJ is a testiment to that, even the Bat would agree. _I should have kept quiet, as this all on me._ When he trusted me the most, I abandoned the kid, and headed straight to the guardians.

Upon receiving the news, most of them were indifferent at most, but Scar... Scar was livid, and still is. However, the final decision still relies on the majority of the guardians agreeing, and there is rarely a time when these wise beings disagree, too heavily- all expect Scar, who often tends to downright reject the others proposals. Still, I do pity her. It sounds weird that I get to pity an insurmountable powerful sentient, but she (if she is a she) has gone through a lot.

Although, I can't blatantly ignore the fact she wants to expel _my_ friend, Kyle, from the very corp he has worked so hard to get into. Do they even know how many of the other Lanters look down on him? They see the kid as a rip-off... of me. They also whisper that he isn't as willed as me.

But, I know differently.

Sure, Kyle may be rash, sometimes annoying, and yet, he has done something even members of the honour guard have failed- to defeat the Yellow Lantern, Sinestro- that makes him pretty awesome in my books. How could they even debate this? He is obviously a great candidate, the ring wouldn't have latched to his finger otherwise. Damn this system, and it's selective recruitment policies. If it were up to me, we should be holding try-outs for Oa's sake. _Great, now Kyle has me saying that._

Reflecting on the ongoing trial, I observe the spectators in the crowd- both Kilowog, and Guy Gardener is here. Of course, John hasn't decided to grace us with his presence, as he has "league" business. What does that even mean anyway?

Overtime, I have noticed the way I'm being phased out of the big seven, even Barry has commented at that, saying: "Where are you, Hal? John is constantly in your seat." well, it is _the_ Barry Allen, so he could be exaggerating slightly. However, believing that I'm apart of the seven is folly: I can tell when I am the least favourite. Oh, and the fact that John always goes on the important missions, leaving me to twiddle my thumbs. _Your going off topic, Hal._ Refocusing, I spot Kilowog giving me the "poozer" look.

 _What is he looking at? Huh._ "Lantern Jordan!" a voice snaps at me, shaking me from my thoughts. Looking up, I see all of the guardians eyeing me suspiciously, as though I was the one on trial here. "Now that we have your attention, please recount your appeal." the lead guardian speaks up, his voice reverberating around the platform.

"Guardians, as I said previously, I believe that this trial is not needed. Lantern Rayner is fully worthy of his status as a member of the corp, surely his defeat of Sinestro is undeniable evidence of that." I cordially plead with the Guardians of the Universe, not caring that I sound desperate.

"A fluke on his part!" Scar waves it away dismissively, glaring at me. The rest of the guardians glance disapprovingly on their peer, seeking out explanation for the sudden rejection. "A lesser-experienced Lantern- like Rayner- could not possibly defeat Sinestro." Scar elaborates. Annoyingly so, Scar refused to refer to Kyle by his formal position, making me just that bit more irritated than I already am.

"Considering we have witnesses from the League, we must presume he was victorious." another guardian states to Scar's annoyance; I can see it irradiating from her posture.

"The League is hardly trustworthy." Scar replies, teetering dangerously close to a snort, which would be punished by her fellows. _The League will remember that the next time you need saving, you little-_

"Go on, Lantern Jordan." the leader once again stimulates the appeal, his tone inquisitive, and plain. Before Scar could open her mouth, and intervene, the others cut her off with demanding gazes. "Tell us more about, Lantern Rayner." he adds on, putting his hands inside the sleeves of his red clothes.

"Where to start- Kyle is involved with a team of young heroes, dedicated to helping them grow more independent, and to bond. From this team, I have observed Kyle's spurts, with a little while longer, he may be one of the best Lanterns the corp has." I honestly answer, meeting the penetrating expressions of the guardian's, head on. "So, this... Young Justice... is helping him in ways that I couldn't- providing him with a family, and friends." I carry on, thinking about all my failures in relation to my apprentice.

"This group sounds beneficial, but your witness account alone is not enough." Scar comments in a direct attempt to undermine the credibility of my observations. "Can anyone else among us, testify?" she confidently continues, sweeping her eyes across the corp.

"I can!" a deep voice emerges from the mass crowd, and John Stewart appears above them. _Okayyyy, so maybe I spoke too soon. I mean can anyone blame me? John has been very detached from me, lately._ "I will vouch for Kyle Rayner!" he yells again, just so the rest of the spectators can fully hear his cry.

"Very well, then, give your side of the argument, Lantern Stewart." Scar nearly sighs, the disdain highly present on her never wavering voice.

"Where to begin," John announces as he floats by my side, keeping just outside my peripheral vision. "Kyle was present in a warring scenario which involved may of Earths most villainous characters, including: Black Adam, Killer Frost, and the mind-controller Gorilla Grodd. During this heated engagement, a hero named Green Arrow laid witness to Kyle's triumph over Sinestro. He said it was genuine, but still with tremendous effort. Surely, this is grounds for the dropping of this tribunal." John eagerly brings forth his opinion, maintaining a watchful eye over the guardians.

"Lantern Stewart, he have previously considered this, and have decided your League is not thoroughly reliable, meaning their evidence isn't credible enough." Scar sneers, and yet retains her usual expressionless appearance.

"What about my testimony!" another shout comes from the crowd, and the hulking veteran Kilowog hovers upwards. _And Kilowog? The guardians have to believe this._ Smirking at the turn of events, I quickly switch to a blank expression, hoping that no-one noticed.

And of course, Scar did. Nothing odd can get past her, it's unbelievable.

"Hmmmmm," the lead guardian considers "Go on." he accepts after careful deliberation.

"It is my opinion that Kyle has the potential to become an effective Lantern," Kilowog starts. _Oh yeah, you tell them Kilo._ "but," he emphasises. The overseers of the trial collectively lean forward curiously. _What the hell!?_ "He... shouldn't be here. I have been a lantern for a long time, and... it is my belief that we must stay true to the rules of the corp. Otherwise, it defeats the point." Kilowog grounds out, solemnly.

"Oh, come on! Yo-"

"Silence! Lantern Jordan!" I am cut off by one of the guardians- I am too annoyed to tell which of them. "You must wait your turn." the presumably male voice sternly orders.

"That's all I have to say." Kilowog informs, and flies back to the group with his head hung low. _How could he? He just said he had the potential! Hopefully, mine, and John's defence will be enough._

"And now, it is up to us to decide the fate of Kyle." Scar responds, callously. Then, the guardians remain silent, each one reviewing all of the details with their own scrutiny. This is it, if Kyle leaves, I may lose my trust in this corp. How can they sit there, and find a solution? There is no problem here, only the ones that Scar has caused. The divide that she was wrought will influence them, as it always has done. Ever since the start of the Green Lanterns, she has defied the others at every turn, after damn turn.

A creepily eerie silence erupts over the platform- neither lantern or guardian willing to break the built up tension. The drama is overwhelming, to the point that I am feeling the urge to get up, and scramble away, just to avoid it. If this does go sideways, I wonder how he will react. Will he be angry, sad, or just... confused? Either way, I am sorry for him. This never would have happened if I didn't open my loud mouth. _Best thing I can do for him now, is stay strong._ John must be in the same predicament, as he wouldn't have taken away his precious time, and come here. Yet, he did.

That is all that matters. I suppose, anyway.

The endless waiting finally ends when the de-facto lead guardian clears his throat, demanding absolute attention. "Guardians, take your vote. Majority, Rayner will be stripped of his status, and ring." he commands, and immediately Scar tilts her head up, and lights her eyes up in a brilliant white, signalling her vote. In a terrifying sequence, several others so the same manoeuvre in utter synchronisation.

As it stands, it is even. One more vote would spell the end of Kyle's brief tenure as a lantern. _Say no, say no, please._ I beg that whatever emotions these beings have left will make them take sympathy with Kyle.

My hope shatters, as the lead guardian goes in favour. In all of my years, I have never felt my soul crushed in this way. This means I may never see Kyle again, and that he will have to be kicked off the Young Justice team. He isn't capable of fighting without his powers; not in the same way Batman, or Robin can.

Now, my only concern is how I will announce this to Kyle- the news will destroy him- all he ever wanted to be is a hero, comparable to me. He won't get that chance after this... unless he seeks out any other power. But, he hardly going to spill chemicals on himself, and he definitely cannot transform into a Kryptonian. Not that I know of, maybe he will snatch a way. Although, it still won't be the same for him; that, I can assure anyone.

"It has been elected," Scar heartily reverberates her voice. "Kyle Rayner is no longer a Green Lantern. Would anyone volunteer to strip his ring from him?" Scar raises an eyebrow at the silent participants.

"I will." I unconsciously mutter, knowing it is up to me to make this right.

"Very well," Scar puts her hands by her side. "afterwards, allow the ring to seek a candidate. As it _should have._ " she firmly orders, leaving no room for further debate.

* * *

 **3rd October, 07:30AM- Coast City**

The same words repeat themselves in my brain, never stopping; never understanding. Only a few short hours ago, the most unimaginable, awful moment of my miserable life took place. Those words phrased every so calmly. "I'm sorry Kyle, but... I have to take your ring." that apology from Hal, was the catalyst to my annihilation. Without another word, I left Mount Justice behind, telling my sympathetic friends that I am coming back.

But... can I go back?

Once upon a time, I would have laughed, and sneered, if you said that I was not going to be green, forever. Back then, I was too gullible. All of this mess is my doing. I thought that maybe, just maybe... everything was going smoothly.

How wrong I was, huh.

So, here I am- slumped on a random rooftop, guessing how cruel the next twist in my life will be. One of them, is that I fall off this building, however, that isn't possible. I'm too good for that nonsense, proportionally, I have a better chance of meeting Batman with his cowl down. He always seemed like the Sylvester Stallone type to me, or he is Shia Lebeouf, as he is undeniably insane enough to be a vigilante.

I'm doing that thing again- going off topic- it tends to happen when I'm furious. Wait... I _am_ furious. How could they?! After everything I have done for that corp, they throw me out like a discardable camera! Absolutely fantastic! _I bet that Hal put them up to this! He thinks I fell for the fake smile, and that atrocious apology. Guess what, I haven't! I will never forgive him!_

The uncontrollable wrath through my veins seeks no way of being put out, instead it eggs me on, driving me insane. _Thank you Oa! For being such idiots! No evil shall escape my sight, my ass! THEY are the evil!_

Amogst my rage, I could sense another horrifying emotion slithering into me- dread, in it's uncomfortable form of paranioa. _Are they coming for me? Coming to tie up any loose ends- namely me? If they do come, the only way I can protect myself is by hiding._

 _No! You are not some coward!_ As my two prominent emotions battle over my mind, my heart beats at an extraordinary rate. This feeling... I have never dreamt of having before. The seething wrath is boiling my blood, but the fear is wreaking havoc on my brain. To the point, I don't control myself anymore. Lurching forward cradling my knees, I appear like a weeping child; both frightened, and alone. That is because I am.

 _Kill them all! Hide from them! Skin them alive! Run away!_ the swirl of contradicting thought clouds my vision, and throbs my head viciously. As my body shakes with the effort of the war, one last thought embodies everything that I believe.

 _This is not the end._

If they want to play dirty, then that's all great by me; all I will do is be dirty back. If you want to strip me of my ring, I will obtain another. If you want to split me away from my friends, I will reforge our bonds, ten times stronger. Beforehand, all I ever strived to achieve is justice, but now... all I _need_ is revenge.

Nobody is halting me from my ambition- to prove them wrong.

Superman, you had better watch your back, because Kyle Rayner is on the block. _Death is too easy for them! What if Superman wants to fight me?_

On que, two brilliantly shining rings slowly approach me, practically daring me to place them on my finger- one is yellow, the other... is red. Grasping them without delay, I slip them back on each middle finger, feeling their strength course through me; my body acting as a conduit. Suddenly, I keel over, and convulse heavily on the ground. Instead of vomit, a thick crimson gushes out, until I faint from the sight.

 **Mount Justice, 09:00AM**

 **Robin's POV**

Grading this moment on a scale of one to horrendous, I think that the latter provides a more accurate insight into what's happening. Here we were, enjoying our morning breakfast after the mission, and... Kyle turns up. But... this isn't the Kyle as we knew him. The Kyle we know and love, tends to emit a green aura, not a combination of red, and yellow. His once awesome suit, has descended into a scary sight. His entire body is shiny, like metal armour, and a diagonal line comes across from his left shoulder to his right waist. The top half is a bright yellow, and the bottom is a sickening blood-red crimson.

"OMG!" Wally exclaims at the sight, his plate shattering on the ground as he drops it, sausages rolling onto the ground. "What the hell!?" Wally chokes, waving his hands in front of his eyes.

"Don't ask, or stare. Tell me when more food is ready." Kyle simply replies, and marches off in the direction of his room. "I mean it!" he yells over his shoulder, somehow realising that we were observing him striding away.

"Call Hal?" Wally questions, taken aback by the outburst.

"Yeah," I huff, and trudge to the kitchen, wanting to escape the overwhelming atmosphere. "I am so whelmed." I mutter to myself, whilst slicing up some bacon.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Thanks for reading this chapter for me guys, and I love all the reviews so far, it just makes my skin crawl when another comes in. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the epic, and sudden transformation of Kyle Rayner, because I sure did.**

 **P.S. If you haven't seen it already, I have a DC story on this account, which has the same amount of praise as this. So, feel free to check it out for some original DC character awesomess. It also includes an original city, villains, and etc.**


	12. Overwhelmed

**A/N**

 **Hello, and welcome my dainty viewers (yes, I mean all of you) and welcome to this latest installment of YJ. For everyone that doesn't like the awesomeness that is Young Justice: "It's YJ, or the highway." Don't murder me for putting that in, please.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Guest: Here is your update, my friend, and cheers for the compliment.**

 **Elvisfonz23: You once again review my story, you legend. I hope you also enjoy this chapter, as well.**

 **CareBearCara101: "Your fic rocks!"- Thank you for the welcome compliment, and you rock, as well.**

 **patattack: RKO out of nowhere... Just joking, it was supposed to be an abrupt turn of events. One which you hopefully enjoyed.**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Overwhelmed...**

 **Robin's POV**

 **10th October, 12:00AM- Mount Justice**

Sweat pours down my armpits, and chest as the young bloods of Young Justice take on the unyielding Black Canary. We throw everything we have at her, but she easily defeats us- through divide, and conquer. Stepping up to the plate, my instincts take hold of my body, and execute a backflip; just as BC's roundhouse comes swerving in. Timed to perfection, I narrowly avoid the vicious attack, and land gracefully. _Is she trying to seriously injure us? Damn... I think she is._ My mind wanders, trying to figure out some obscure tactic to beat the bird.

Despite my best warnings, the duo of Kyle, and Conner keep on attempting a headlong assault, ending with them swatted away like flies. Conner Kent- aka Superboy- charges in with a roar, to be met with a swift knee to the face; after that, the clone is brutally thrown into the wall with hip toss. Even with the undeniable failure of our comrade, Kyle follows suit, and darts forward with a battle cry. Kyle Rayner has changed. Before today, we did everything in our power to disrupt the realisation creeping forth. But now, it's as clear to see as one of Wally's innuendos.

When he was a Green Lantern- a guardian, and peacekeeper- his movements were erratic, and seemingly random, yet you could observe how he planned out each attack; purpose drove his imagination. Watching the hybrid lantern as of this moment, all I can spectate is a primal fury. One that is uncontrolled, and apparentely lacking direction. His hard light constructs have superiorly less creativity on them, and more... instinctive. As though he is merely overseeing the battle, and his ring is doing the heavy lifting.

And, that is dangerous. Not only to Black Canary (due to their being no restrictions on killing, in both of his rings), but to his allies, as well. However, Kyle doesn't comprehend this. The only shred of control he has right now, is his fear. To my keen eyes, I ser the stress on his mind. Both his anger, and terror, are colliding in a colossal battle of the brain, and heart.

Next, I decide to shake off my inquisitiveness, and commence my engagement with the mother hen. Before she suddenly spins around, I aim a well placed foot her exposed back, although not enough to severely damage her, it visibly shakes her. However she hastily regains her composure, and responds with a deafening canary cry. My ears pop under the trauma, and Superboy collapses to his knees in agony; vibrations would be worse for a Kryptonian.

To my shock, Kyle's face contorts into an ugly expression of utter fury. _Watch out BC, he's mad._ Even though I am concerned about what might happen if Kyle loses his cool, it would be awesome if we win this round. Leaping forward with a sinister tenacity, Kyle forms a mace, and swings directly for the base of her skull. _Oh geez, that will kill her!_ Perhaps sensing my distress, Miss Martian telepathically yanks Kyle back from her position in the audience of three- Artmeis, Miss M, and Aqualad.

"Enough!" Kaldur cries out, no doubt witnessing the intent of our fellow hero. "Black Canary, we must stop this." he adds on, calmly. The expression on BC's face says it all. She's partly annoyed that he would order her (a senior member of the league) around, and, because she was enjoying herself.

"Why did you do that!?" Kyle soars over, and yells in Megan's face. "I could have won!" he carries on with rant, now pointing at her menacingly. Feeling sorry for the alien, Artemis steps in, and shoves Kyle back a few steps. To which he replies by clenching his fists with an audible pop.

"Back off, jerk!" Artemis threatens with a deadly glare in Kyle's direction. "Or, I will beat you to next week." she states viciously, maintaining her unrelenting gaze.

"I've love to see you try," Kyle retorts. The way his facial canvas is organised makes him barely recognisable. The usual glint in his eyes is replaced by a fiery determination, and his laid back smirk is usurped by a ruthless, and calculating stare. Being in the epicenter of this feels like I am caught between an unshakeable mountain, and an unstoppable frieght train. Is this what most of the JL feels when Batman squares up to Superman? If so, that's downright frightening. "Artemis." he spits out as though her name is a foul taste in his mouth.

"Guys, settle down." I plead, wanting to stem the negativity irradiating from this confrontation. "we are all friends here, right?" I beam at them. Then, Kyle turns his attention to me. A massive mistake on my front, as the emotion drooling of his mask transforms the Bat-glare into a pout.

"Shut up, unless you want to fight me, along with her." he snarls in a very unlike-Kyle way. Returning his peer with my own adapted version of my father's infamous glare, I snap my fingers ahead of nose.

"Nah, I know you wont fight me, or her, so just shush." I counter, another error. _Duh, Robin. Kyle runs of anger, so making his more enraged isn't the greatest idea._

"Hold on, what is going on here?" Black Canary finally intervenes with her hands on her hips.

"Nothing that concerns you." Kyle growls with a heinous tone, eying the Canary with a scowl. "Find me when we have something interesting to do." Kyle proceeds to storm out of the vicinity, and heads towards his room.

"Stay here, I'll deal with him." Black Canary resolutely commands us teens, then chasing down the lantern in a pace the Flash would admire.

"That was unexpected." I point out. "Let's chill for a second." I motion for the peeps to follow me to the furnished lounging area. Obeying, they closely tail me, and we slump into the assortment of seating available, with me slouching on a beanbag. To say that the silence that emerges is awkward, would be a drastic understatement.

"That was... interesting." Superboy shatters the silence with his usual monotony. Against all reasoning, the clone always manages to be partly grumpy, coming in many shapes and forms. So, it's not very surprising that he was the one to grumble first. If I had to take a wild guess, Wally would have been the person to comment, after SB.

"And weird," Miss Martian notes in the choking pause that comes subsequent to Conner. "and gruesome to watch." she says as an after thought.

"Indeed." Aqualad solemnly agrees. "Kyle may have seized an opportunity, but he also was willing to cause harm on another. This shows how unstable he is." Kaldur muses to the group, his posture remaining tight, and reflectful.

"Unstable? More like he doesn't give a damn, anymore." Artemis interferes, sitting with her arms rigidly crossed over her chest. "Guess he's finally lost his cool. "

"Okay guys, arguing, isn't helping the situation." I settle them down, preventing them from breaking out into a scuffle. _It's like trying to calm rowdy kids, fighting over the latest toy._ I sigh. "We need to find a solution, and fast." I imperiously mandate.

"I agree with you, the best way forward is attempting to resolve Kyle's anger problems." Kalder assents.

"Ha, and people say that I need anger management." Conner heartily preaches, which is extraordinarily out of character for the replicate of the Man of Steel.

"You do." Artemis caustically confirms, to the contempt of the Kent. _Great way to stir the proverbial pot, Artemis. We really need another angry male on the loose._ "Besides, at least Kyle is useful when he's in rage-mode." she defends the lantern, simultaneously winning a crack at Conner.

"Shut up." he shoots back, warningly daring the blonde archer to push him over the cliffside.

"Hello, Megan," Miss Martian smacks her head in a comical facepalm. "why don't we sign him up for management sessions?" she gleefully suggest, clapping her hands together.

"We already discussed that, Megan." I notify the shapeshifter, and view as her form turns sour.

"Oh." she mumbles, nevertheless she speedily shifts back into her joyful demeanor, and beams at all of us. "Anything else we could do?" she begs.

"Actually, anger sessions will be beneficial." Aqualad declares, his eyes squinting somewhat in consideration.

"Are you joking? Who will do it? Oh yeah, Superman would love to teach a teenager how to be a goody boy, like him." Artemis acerbically jests, her contemn aimed at the Kryptonian's knack for being labelled as a boy scout.

"He's not a goody boy!" Superboy raises his voice, evidently taking the insult to heart.

"Whatever you say." Artemis rebuts, echoing the glower that Conner has marked her way. _More conflict, just what we need. Batman would so kill me for this._ In some ways, I comprehend both sides of the divide- Conner is clandestinely concerned for his friend, though is hiding before his external shell; Artemis is vexed, because of not only Kyle, simply her inability to perceive his condition. _Wow, Rob, way too deep._

"Anyhow, this doesn't solve anything." I moan. "We need a plan that can be played out slowly enough, so that Kyle won't notice it, because if he does, you will throw a fit." I consider, pondering on possible paths to controlling our resident Red/Yellow Lantern. Whatever we can come up with, I'm assuming that Kyle isn't going to necessarily conform with us.

"So... you're asking for the impossible." Artemis snorts. "We would have better odds in forcing Wally to fast for a couple of hours."

"Nothing is ever impossible, Artemis; not when you set your mind on a specific goal." Kaldur placidly certifies, holding his knees with his webbed hands. "I suggest we all work together on this task." he implies that he wants absolute co-operation from the team.

"Conner doesn't have a mind worth mentioning." Artemis offends Superboy's intelligence, even so he remains deathly peaceful.

"Perhaps if you spent more time using your brain instead of your mouth, Artemis, we will have more success in our considerations." Aqualad serenely barks, betraying the anger in his words.

"This isn't going too well, guys." Megan expresses her doubts openly to the group.

"Patience is key, or at least that's what Batman keeps telling me." I say. "If we stay cool, and run through the scenarios, nothing will get in our way, because we're YJ." I pledge to my fellow teenage heroes (except SB, who is kinda older than he is.)

"That rhymed." Superboy evinces to everyone, who don't particularly care, including me- the Boy Wonder.

"I think I may have an idea." Aqualad prompts. His stature has changed to fit his reflectfulness, both of his legs are tight together, and his spine is directed straight up, never bending. "Kyle may be feral, but I have heard about a weakness of the Red Lantern ring... hope."

"Hope?" Conner sneers. "That's you're big plan? Letas catch some hope, and launch it into Kyle's heart. " he perseveres in his mini-rant. "I'm sure that will be possible, all we need is a unicorn, and a pair of magic geese."

"How do you know about unicorns?" I beseech.

"Team, back to my suggestion, please." Kaldur refocused our weary group. "Hope can cleanse the impurity from a Red Lantern's veins. So, all we have to accomplish is make him have hope."

"That's a great idea" Megan inputs her opinion.

"Are you sure about this?" Artemis inquires, to which Kaldur gravely nods his head. "Okay... I guess I'm game."

"Good, as we need all the help we can muster." Kalder speaks. "First of all, we need to figure out a way to instill hope in him. Secondly, we must take into account a plan, in the case that Kyle rejects our attempts to re-educate him." he arranges the order in which we are supposed to act on our scheme. _I feel like a villain._ I stifle a giggle at the notion.

"What are talking about?" a voice surfaces from behind Superboy, causing him to jump in astonishment. "Answer me." it grunts again. To my realisation, it can only be one person. It has to be the Batman.

"You know, stuff." Artemis lies, also noticing the owner of the deep voice.

"Don't lie to me, Artemis." Batman at last sneaks into the centre of us all, standing perfectly in our viewlines. "So, someone tell me what you have planned." he decrees, his gaze fixated on me. _I'm so grounded if I don't tell him._

"We are attempting to solve the resident angry teenager." I divulge, cognizant that the Bat will see through any deception I can throw at him. "In a... non-violent way." I utter. For a few moments, he examines me scrupulously, seeking out any hints of any falsehood.

"Come with me... all of you." Batman eventually gestures towards the training circle by striding to it's general vicinity. "Recently, the League has encountered several distress messages." he stiffly rambles up to the computer, and rapidly keys in several buttons.

"From who?" Miss M asks the Bat.

"From an ally of the League -the Queen of Atlantis- Mera." Batman callously imparts, ignoring the aghast expression of Kalder, unfolding on his habitually blank features. "There has been an estimated one every ten minutes for 2 hours. Only until eight hours ago, when they ceased."

"She must have been rescued by my King." Aqualad reasons.

"I have already spoke with Aquaman, and he admitted he doesn't know where she is." Batman resists, the fact on his tone.

"But, the Queen is powerful, no-one could po-"

"Aqualad, Superman is also powerful," Batman cuts him off. "and yet, he has been beaten several times. Power doesn't make defeat impossible, just less likely." he wisely re-affirms, making no attempt to console the Atlantean with his voice.

"What are we here for? Can't the League deal with this?" Conner queries. Even though he could have phrased it better due to the mess, he does formulate a fantastic point- it's league business, aren't we under-qualified.

"That may be so, but we need a team that is ready for action. The rest of the Justice League is busy dealing with another of Doomsday's rampages; to which I must assist with. Robin, take point." he reports, before zooming out of the mountain. Within a blink, he manages to powerwalk out of our YJ home.

"I guess you're briefing us, Robin." a feminine voice belonging to Black Canary calls out, sauntering over with Kyle in two. Whereas Canary is emotion-less, Kyle has a perma-frown stuck to his youthful face.

"Well, apparently I am." I complain at the turbulent chain of events. "Let's see..." I mumble as I sift through all of the data that Batman has left at our disposal- datalogs, the distress signals, and most importantly of all: locations. Weirdly, the location is endlessly moving, it's co-ordinates changing every second. "It's on the water, guys." I whine, putting the markings on the computer. A dark red blimp shines in the middle of the Atlantic.

"Not on the water, I think it is under." Kaldur presumes, observing the dot swiftly darting across the screen. "It's fast, but not too fast." he analyses. "To be moving across the ocean without hiding, must mean they are underwater; a submarine, if I were to assume."

"That's helpful." Artemis snarks. "Unless you have failed to notice, I can't use my bow underwater." he shrugs her shoulders.

"I can help with that." Kyle rudely butts in. "Me, Miss M, and Aqualad don't need scuba gear. I can use my atmospheric controls underwater. Thus meaning I can extend it to your arrows, they will fly as though they were in the air." he says, calmer than he was before.

"Amazing, utterly amazing; you just made world peace, congratulations." Artemis sarcastically bites back. "I might actually forgive that you are a jerk."

"Tell me when, it will be my pleasure to hear you say it." Kyle responds, a little sum of his old cheekiness crawling back to his personality. "As for now, shut up, and focus on the mission." he cracks at her, his words like a whip.

"Before you start confronting, might I remind you that we are a team." Aqualad assays to pacify the swirling storm of emotions. "Miss Martian, is it true?" he petitions.

"I think so. Maybe, I could change into a mermaid." she bounces on the spot in anticipation.

"What am I going to do?" Superboy asks, begging to be allowed on this mission. It has been a couple of days since he last hit something, so in my opinion, it's better than him blowing up in a training session.

"Wait. We will infiltrate the vessel, and locate my Queen, meanwhile you, and Robin will prepare to provide extraction." Kaldur answers. "Next, you will help us take over the ship."

 **Ten Hours Later...**

 **Kyle's POV**

Aboard the bio-ship, we assemble our spirits, and organise our gear. _They are looking at you, always. They think that you are an abomination. They will be proven wrong, no matter how long it takes._ Shoving away the acidic thoughts, I converge my attention on a focal point- the red, and yellow glows of my rings- just how Black Canary instructed me to. At first, I was cynical. Of course it wouldn't work, how could it? The fury I feel inside of me no longer plagues my actions, yet remains present in the dark expanses of my heart. Every waking moment, my blood boils, never relenting; never merciful. Is this how I will live my sorry life from now on? Cruel, and insensitive? I guess only time will reveal.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Thank you all for reading this chapter, and I wish that you enjoyed it. Only around 20 chapters left to go!**


	13. Sub-Delight

**A/N**

 **Hello, and welcome to this newest chapter of YJ, or the highway. Where we have officially reached 3,000 views! Whoop! Whoop!**

 **Reviews**

 **Elvisfonz23: Your opinion is much appreciated, as per usual. I'm so glad that you enjoy all of the fun happening, and I also hope that you will love this episode. So, please love it!**

 **patattack: I know, but that would be too childish, in my opinion, anyway. Keep on being awesome!**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Sub-delight...**

 **10th October, 10PM- Somewhere in the Atlantic**

 **Kyle's POV**

Floating in the supposedly freezing water, I calmly await the signal, mind swirling in a constant war of emotions. Despite the sub-zero conditions of the Atlantic Ocean, my atmospheric field maintains my body at the optimum temperature for a human. So, around 37 degrees celsius. This gives me a welcomed advantage over the rest of the underwater team. All apart from Artemis, who is also sharing my protective aura. Luckily for her, I decided not to cut it off and watch her scramble for warmth and oxygen. _What's the matter with you, Kyle?_ Inwardly chastise my sinister, and downright disturbing thoughts.

The past few hours on the plan were both unproductive and boring, to be frank. Whereas I at least attempted to focus on something related to our mission, Superboy took it upon himself to make my miserable existence that much worse. Hence, my abysmal mood. The 'Boy of Steel' did this by shooting me malicious glares and snide remarks, every so often. Just to make matters that tiny piece more annoying, he enticed Miss Martian into breaking (or trying to) into my mind. That worked out terrific for her... not.

Taking my sweet time in procrastinating, I form bubbles and spectate them rising gently to the awaiting surface. In my opinion, this infernal waiting will be the death of me- the boredom, the sighing, and the exruciating conversations that occur. At one point, Artemis actually asked Kaldur if the Atlantean washes his gills. Out of the garbage that has been sprouted from someone's mouth in history, that has to be a quote worthy of legend. Nevermind, that he replied to her stupid question.

If I could whistle right now, I would be irritating the heck out of everyone in my vicinity. Including, but not limited to Artemis, Miss M, and Aqualad.

Finally, Kaldur swiftly raises his right hand, signalling phase one of our 'perfect' plan. Without delay, I join Megan up to the side of the submarine, surprising her in the process. " _What are you doing, Kyle?_ " she asks, curiosity riddled on her facial expression.

" _Getting inside the boat, duh._ " I respond, rolling my eyes in the process. " _What else would I be doing? Going for a quick hug?_ "

" _Oh... how do you plan on doing that?_ " she beams, her gills weirdly flaring to intake extra air. " _I want to say sorry for earlier, Conner said that he would find it funn-_ "

" _Don't sweat it, I'm not mad._ " I interrupt with a blatant lie. " _As for getting in, y_ _ou'll see._ " I ambiguously answer, to which she practically giggles in anticipation. There are times I have no clue why M'egan M'orzz took the choice to sign up with the Young Justice, mainly as she always seems too innocent to be caught up in this messy business. In fact, only one thing in this employment is certain- it will mould you into a monster, free of regret; monsters never be heroes for long, only until the slayers come around.

Not allowing her to patiently wait any longer, I focus my pure anger and utter fear within me, using it to phase through the solid hull. Smoothly reaching the other side of the exterior, I await Megan to repeat my technique. But, I soon realise that she hasn't mastered it, yet. " _Hang on... what was you doing there, Megan?_ " I confusedly scratch the base of my skull.

" _Hello Megan, I completely forgot that lanterns can shift._ " Miss Martian gasps. Along with that sentence, I can visually picture her slapping her forehead with a fin. I'm not going to lie, that is pretty amusing to imagine. " _Now, we have to get in._ "

" _Don't worry Megan, I have all the faith that you ca- speaking of the devil._ " I cut assurance off as a hand rudely taps me on the shoulder. Judging by the weight and fingernails, it's the blonde archer in the flesh. " _I'm having a convo here._ " I inform her, spinning around to face the she-demon.

" _I'm not sure if you have noticed, but I do not care._ " Artemis sassily smirks.

" _You are so boring._ " I huff and brush past her, heading deeper into what appears to be a machine room of some sort. Around me are endless whirring machines and pumps, chiming together like a synchrony. To an artist such as me, it's particularly beautiful to behold; it would make a spectacular painting, or a sketch. However, I suppose work comes first, as it also tends to be viewed as more important.

" _Kyle, your assistance would be appreciated, please._ " I unconsciously stumble onto Aqualad attempting to unlock a door, or... break it down?

" _What are you_ doing?" I chuckle at the way he is oddly alternating between twisting the handle and knocking on the front, as if someone will pop up, and answer. "I'm _sure that the door has never done anything to you._ " I coolly shuffle him out of the equation and lift up the locking handle, therefore overcoming the obstacle.

" _Thank you._ " he cordially gives his gratitude. Even after everything I have done, Kaldur still retains his usual dignity and respect; good for him, I guess. " _The door design is unfamiliar to me._ " he adds on, brow furrowed in thought.

" _It's new,_ " I explain. " _called the Anti-Atlantean, I think._ " I joke, in a hearty try at raising morale. After, it takes Kaldur a good three minutes before he came to terms with my jest. Still, he only puffed and marches away in a style that Darth Vader would be astonished by. "You're welcome." I mutter under my breath.

" _Come with me, Kyle, the others may have found a way into the hold._ " he orders out of the blue, stopping halfway into the machine room to let me catch up. Wondering how he knows, I hastily dart to his position, falling a brisk walk beside him.

As we head to the others, I take a moment to have a brief think about recent catastrophes. Considering that I was kicked out of my life's ambition, I feel like I am handling it well. Yeah, the corp may have ruined my dreams, yet I am on track to achieve another. The Green Lantern Corp gifted me a short insight into the twisted reality of heroism. In theory, it's about saving countless civilian lives. On the other hand, it's far from the true nature- characterised by pain and sacrifice. It has its shortcoming, but so too does every job in the present Earth. Most people worry about wages and taxes, but we stress about when the next supervillain will assault the world. Oh the joys.

Then, you have the ones similar to us- Young Justice. Those few that are outshone by their mentors, struggling to create our own future. Those few that give their everything each day, to be confronted with content from Batman. Those few that are ready to take a leap of faith, jumping into a world shaped by us, and us alone. Mark my words, as when that fateful day arrives, I will achieve what I set out to do. I will attain pure peace.

"Keep your head in the mission." Aqualad bluntly snaps at me, washing away my reflective musings.

"But... I was." I return with a snort.

"Being serious is never your specialty, is it? " he rhetorically asks.

"What's got you in such a foul state? " I beseech for information, deeply concerned for the Atlantean. Taking into account he barely ever shows a flicker of emotion, this must be a dire circumstance. "Is this about your Queen?" I apprehensively presume.

"Yes, it is." he divulges, without revealing any further details about his emotional wellbeing.

Taking his following silence as a hint that he no longer wants to converse, I do the correct thing for once and shut up. Every painstaking angle of approach closed off, I purse my lips and sway as I follow Kaldur to the others. Exiting the engine room/Machinery galore, we literally bump into the two females of the YJ strike force. " _Watch it, Kyle!_ " Artemis telepathically shrieks like a banshee the instant I collide with her.

" _Calm down, you might wake up the bad guys._ " I cheekily wink at her.

" _I swear._ " she starts, waving her fist threateningly in the air. " _Ughh... forget it._ " she furiously drops her head, sliding her hand onto her hip instead.

" _If I was you, I would learn to check that anger of yours._ " I advise her, a flicker of truth in my words. Only god knows how much I understand her fury.

" _Back to the mission._ " Kaldur directs us to deeper within the metal beast. To be honest, it's a shame that Aqualad doesn't scream and yell at us; maybe then will we finally heed his orders. " _Kyle, go with Artemis and secure the bridge. Me and Miss Martian will rescue my Queen._ " Kaldur commands with a hard as steel tone, subtly telling us not to screw it up by arguing.

Almost mockingly saluting the leader, I halt my arm midway and transform it into a yawn. Then, I follow Artemis to our supposed target. After all, he is assuming that we reach the bridge and not maul each other before we hit the midsection of the submerged vessel. From time to time, we have a fair chance of getting along, but as of late it's becoming substantially tougher; guess I shouldn't have saved her backside in Bialyia, though that would be a douche move. And, I am _not_ a douche... only a half-douchbag. The other half is a cross between a god and Michael Jordan, who are practically the same species of awesome.

" _Damn it Kyle, you're doing that thing again._ " I blurt out before I remembered that the link is still active in our minds.

"If you're going to annoy me, do it with your voice, please. Having you in my head will cause permanent brain damage." Artemis drowsily says with her actual voice.

"Sorry for being a nuisance." I sarcastically sneer. "We all know that your brain is your best asset."

"What was that!?" she spins around, scarcely holding her volume down to an acceptable level. I mean, we are on a highly important mish to rescue a damsel in distress, right? It's the least the sassy cretin can do.

"What do you mean?" I teasingly smirk back at her, not flinching under her wrathfilled gaze.

"You know what I mean." she menacingly waves a finger in front of nose, vexing me a bit. "Do you ever think before you open that big hole you call a mouth?" she shakes her head. Just as I found a witty defense, I realised that she has a valid point in some perspectives. Throughout my existence, I normally talk with my instincts, uttering the first sentence that emerges in my throat.

"Do I have to answer that?" was my eventual avoidance of her thought provoking question. In typical fashion for Artemis, she puffs and struts away like the diva she is. "Hey! Wait for me!" I call out whilst speeding to catch up with the female blonde.

Upon reuniting with my inconsistently empathetic ally, I slow down and reduce my pace to match her co-ordinated powerwalk. Her movements are balanced and straight, never straying from a direct path. Huge amounts of contained rage flow off her posture, being detected by my power ring.

However, her emotions gradually fade as we approach the bridge, both confidently and hesitantly. Whether we are feeling brave or not, we can only estimate the amount of soldiers that await us on the other side. Couple that with uncertainty in my current capabilities and we have a predicament that I can't solve by smashing it with a massive hammer. Still, I could pretend that the anxiety is creeping into my thoughts.

"Wait." I instruct Artemis, begging her somewhat. "Can we talk for a second? You know, before we enter a room which is bound to be filled with several... guys with big guns? Just so we're... clear about our... plan." I ask, my voice unwillingly croaking towards the end.

"OMG, are you scared?" her tone is a mix of nihilism and absolute amusement. I can't deny that she is quite sharp; picking up my fear was intelligent enough, nevermind that I didn't believe I was frightened, until she pointed it out to me. "Ha, you are, aren't you?"

"Woah, hold up there Robin Hood. Who said anything about being scared?" I clench my teeth in annoyance.

"You can't lie to me, Kyle." she teasingly shrugs off my question. "Your face tells me all I need to know- scared like a baby boy in the dark."

"How dare you lecture me about being scared!" I exclaim, taking a brazen step forward in her direction. "I know fear! It's the thing that both demotivates you, _and_ drives you on! It's a living nightmare that never goes away; It's that phobia that plagues you, since you were a small child!" I gasp for air, calming down from the outburst. "I am fear." I sinisterly whisper directly in her face, causing her to stumble back a few paces. "Now that's settled, let's begin."

Rubbing my hands together from a dark delight- fuelled by fury- I observe the door slide open with a morbid fascination. Shocked at our abrupt arrival, the guards inside dart up and boldly aim their laser weapons at us. The tenseness of their shoulders conveys to me that they won't hesitate in shooting us, if given the hostile signal. Every Manta soldier in the bridge is focused on our bodies, paying special care to the limbs- arms and legs. Furthermore, they seem to have lost a competent NCO, judging by the fact they haven't already fired upon us. We are their sworn enemies, after all. "Me, or you?" I imply to Artemis. Out of my peripheral vision, I can make out her slender form, bow raised in hand.

"Such a gentleman."

Those three words catapulted a chain of events that led to a serious encounter between the lackies and us. Firstly, Artemis' premier trick arrow sliced into the control panel, jolting electricity through and frying the computers. Shortly after, a constructed ball slams into a guard's helmet, knocking him to the ground like a potato. Utilising my rage, I help lay waste to the soldier, sending several backwards with a singly burst of energy. Their bodies land painfully on the hard, metal floor, contacting with an audible thump.

Before any of the rest could hope to fully raise their guns, Artemis releases smoke into the room via one of her non-lethal gadgets, aiming it at the floor in the centre of the bridge. The remaining soldiers cough and splutter, clearly unaccustomed to the harshness of tear gas; the helmets must not provide an air filter along with the evil appearance. If you are designing a helmet, it's common sense to place in a filter of some kind.

My blood boils as Artemis dispatches another shaking guard. _There is no way I'm allowing her to outscore me._ I motivate myself. _Scratch that, she just did!_ I groan, spectating as she neutralises the last combatant with a shock arrow to the armoured chest.

" _I can hear you._ " her pestering voice enters my mind.

" _Shut up! And, help me secure this bridge!_ " I push back. " _How are the things on your end guys?_ " I feebly ask anyone that will answer.

" _Uh, good, I suppose._ " Miss Martian's curiously forced words shoot back via the link.

" _Is it just me, or are you doing something... intense?_ _You know, some hero stuff... like fighting?_ " I cheerily imply. " _Then again, you could be baking, as you tend to get excited when doing that._ "

" _Oh no, we are fighting. There's two of them, and they are really angry. Do you mind helping us?_ " Miss M randomly grunts during her question, signifying that she may have been introduced to a fist or foot.

" _We're on our way._ "

 **Kaldur's POV**

My body screams at me to halt as I vigorously continue my frontal charge, dealing with the two villains that are blocking my path to the brig; my Queen is in danger, and I cannot afford to submit to these foul beings. One of them is the King's mortal enemy, the Black Manta; the other is what I can only describe as a young boy, but... more chaotic. This attack is my third venture into the fray of this biased battle. The fruitless assaults that preceded this one were equally one sided- the felons hold the major advantage.

This time... I _will_ succeed.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Did you people enjoy?**

 **Just so you know, once this is over I will be writing a second series, which will focus on a 'B Team '. This backup squad will include several new heroes: Hawkboy, Kid Shazam, Raven, Chilled, and Terra. So, a few new faces and a few old. I hope you like the idea.**

 **Still, there is too many chapters of this left to go, thus... you will have to wait and see about the dramatic ending of this book. I'm so sorry, but that's the way it has to go.**

 **See you soon,**

 **Kyle Rayn-**

 **No, just me.**


	14. Chaotic Conundrum

**A/N**

 **Welcome guys and girls to this newest chapter. I hope that all of you have a Merry Christmas, and enjoy your holidays. This chapter will be uploaded after Christmas Eve, so some of you may not see it. For Corver Chronicles, there will be no upload until a while.**

 **Uploads will be slow until I get my computer working again. It makes me go 'Grrrrrr'**

 **Reviews**

 **Guest: 'OMG UPDATE SOON' well... here you go, I suppose. I'm glad you like it.**

 **Elvisfonz23: Thanks for the compliments, as always. You can change my day in a heartbeat.**

 **I am also planning a Legends of Tommorow series, so check it out on my profile! It will involve everyone's favourite kid- Shazam!**

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Chaotic Conundrum...**

 **Kyle's POV**

"Run faster!" Artemis yells at me from behind, like a cattle driver herding their cows.

"Don't you... think... I am?... Geez!" was my hurried response, gasping for breath in between. _I never knew that it's this hard to run everywhere, instead of flying._ All of a sudden I discovered a newfound admiration for the no-powered members of the Young Justice- Robin and Artemis. All the times I sneered at them for having no powers, I had no idea that they are stronger than they appear. _Of course, I will never admit that in public._

Sprinting at break-neck speed, we are currently attempting to reach our supposedly in distress friends. Considering that Miss Martian and Aqualad have proven their abilities, I don't understand what the rush is about. Sure, they apparently need help, but Kaldur couldn't open a door earlier. I'm sure it's no big... deal.

My assurances were torn apart by a red laser blasts, ripping apart the metallic wall. "Spoke too soon... why is everything so imperfect?" I mutter, just as another blast sends me soaring into the opposite wall. Pain ripples at the back of my head, which seems to have smacked against the wall.

"Kyle!" Artemis exclaims and darts over to me, slapping me slightly in the face.

"Hey... hey!... hey! stop it!" I wind up shouting to make her stop the endless backhands. "What was that for?" I gingerly ask.

"Revenge, sweet revenge." she winks and dashes off, leaving me in a humiliated and furious heap. _How dare that archer slap me? Her hand doesn't deserve to touch this perfection._ I chuckle. My head throbs at the effort, but my friends need help. So, I drag myself up and hobble to the bent hole.

Inside is a massively biased battle- the typical courageous heroes vs devious villains scenario. Aqualad is in a protective stance over Megan's limp (presumably unconscious) body, and defending against a series of relentless kicks and punches from an armoured guy with a helmet- shaped like lemon- on. Artemis boldly joins the fray and helps double-team the lemonhead, alongside Kaldur. In the background is some creepy kid, cackling sinisterly for no reason. _What a weirdo,_ I muse.

Unconsciously, my eyes switch back to Miss M's prone form. Something flicked on inside of me. That feral, almost uncontrollable rage that I fell to before; the feeling rapidly grows, causing my eyes to narrow on that creep at the back. _Smile again, I dare you,_ I mentally threaten, balling my fists with anger.

The final straw was when he tripped over Artemis was a simple point, using one of his extremely thin fingers.

With a bloodcurdling battle cry, I fly directly at the amused teenager, without constructing or employing evasive maneuvers. No, I want to beat him down with my bare fists, blow after blow. I want to make him regret his decision. I want to make him feel justice.

"Uh oh, someone's grumpy." he surprisingly sighs in a shrill voice, both annoying and deeply chilling. "Ah well, let me cheer you up." he points all of his fingers at me with a mischievous smirk. It remains that way for a few seconds- me recklessly catapulting at him, and him stood there, with his sticks for fingers outstretched. Then, red blasts zoom out of the wands. They hit me square in the face, sending me crashing backwards; conveniently landing next to my fighting allies.

"Not good; not good." I groan and eventually heave my body up, wincing at the surge of agony flowing around my body. "That guy is the deal." I inform my friends, just in case they come across the weedy thing later. "He was like pow, and I went oww."

"A... little... help." Artemis grunts as she flips around, similar to how Robin normally fights. In most scenarios, she would stay back and bombard the guys with arrows. Catching sight of the empty quiver, I can comprehend why. _Hello Kyle, friends in danger,_ I remind myself and scramble into the action, leaping into the centre with no clue how to fight in close quarters. Still, I know the occasional move from Black Canary.

Amidst the thuds of limbs parrying limbs, my bright suit stands out like Superboy in a kindergarten class. "What are you doing, Kyle?" Kaldur asks, simultaneous combining with Artemis in a swift counter-attack. _To be honest, I have no idea._

Deciding to throw myself into the blender and see what happens, I run up to Artemis; just as our enemy was about to punch her, I dive in front of her. Not having enough time to register the change of target, his fists smacks into my face, in what should be a potentially fatal blow. Yet, it rebounds, ricochets even.

The bad guy stumbles back in obvious shock at the failed assault, leaving me even more astounded. "Oh yeah, the suit... duh." I hit my forehead in the exact motion that Megan does when she says 'Hello Megan!'. The ruse works to perfection.

Taking advantage of the villain's confused stupuer, Kaldur bounds in with a flying kick to the temple.

Black Manta's lemon is knocked off his head, revealing the face beneath. He glares up at us with a fiery hate glinting in his eyes. _Wait... I swear that I've seen those eyes before._ It doesn't matter how hard I try, the match escapes my generally excellent memory.

"Uhhh... Batm- Wait no, Flash." I guess.

"Like hell that's The Flash, he has blue eyes. This wannabe has brown." Artemis dismisses it.

"Look at you _heroes_ ," the bad guy chuckles. "bickering over something so insignificant, when the real danger is staring you in the face." he adds on, nodding backwards at the now dancing boy. _He seems to be enjoying himself,_ I muse and knock out the lying man with a swift punch to the jaw.

"Kyle! We don't just hit people." Artemis squeals.

"uhhh... we do... last time I checked." I say, stepping over the prone man and towards the boy.

Somehow sensing our approach amidst his energetic dancing, he halts and swerves around to face us. A scruffy looking cat leaps out of his arms and sits expectantly at his side. _Weird._ Contrary to the fact he is outnumbered, the similarly aged boy holds a certain aura of... happiness.

"Don't you just love fighting? the skill, the dance, and ohhh... the _chaos_." he asks, features gleefully turned into a vile grin.

"You're a little bit of a fruit loop aren't you?" Artemis says.

"It's not nice to go around insulting people, young lady." he chastises, but this tone is opposite to his words- almost encouraging and with fake annoyance.

"Young lady?" she shakes her head.

"Yes, you are pretty young aren't you? A tad bit too young, especially if you are a hero."

"Yeaahhhh, and how old are you? The same damn age as us!"

"Well, you could say that you are very, very wrong." the boy sinisterly rolls his eyes. "I am... what you could say is an old person- an old, oldy, old person." he continues, now pushing a hand through his hair, revealing a pair of sharp, black horns.

"Do you get them trimmed?" I blurt out.

"Very funny, I like you." he answers. "But I am afraid that you are interfering in my plans, and well... I can't have that." he extends his fingers again, and with a quick snap my head flares in pain.

I fall to my knees, clutching my throbbing head. The sensation is unlike any other I have ever felt. A mix of vertigo and a hefty dose of agony combined in a state of utter paralysis. Images of battles and anarchy rush into my mind, making it hurt even further. Every thought is tainted by fire and screams, propping up the stress on my brain.

Seconds later it fades away and my blurred vision painfully returns, clearing via tears. As it comes into focus I can see Artemis and Kaldur launching themselves at the strange figure, being swatted away with red tendrils. Clutching my side, I get up for what seems like the one millionth time on this mission and hurry over to where Miss Martian is lying. _Come on, we need SB and Robin in here,_ I shake her rigorously.

Even after a whole ten seconds of harsh prodding, she remains in a comatose-like state. Suddenly, one final option enters my mind. "I'm sorry for this." I hold up my hand in a ready position, waiting to backhand her soft face. "But... I can't do this...yes, you can. Now do it." I argue with myself in deliberation.

With a nervous intake of breath, I slap her across the cheeks with one eyes closed. The hand smacks of her green face with a loud thump and a rosy mark emerges at the impact area.

Yet, she is still unconscious.

 _What is it going to take?_ I gasp in nihilism. _Is she asleep or dead?_

Then, another plan pops up in the inner and darker reaches of my planning complex. _This will work... hopefully?_

Martians are famously for being powerful telepaths, so maybe her mind is keeping her unconscious to preserve her body. Thus, if I shock the brain, she will theoretically be able to control her body again. Now, only to find a way to do it.

Of course, I could throw her in the ocean. Or give her an electric shock.

 _That's it!_ The only emotion that usually triggers adrenaline is fear, and it's a coincidence that I am a user of fear. Using my ring, I could possibly enter her mind and find her trigger to fear. After that, it should force her mind into returning control to her muscles, in an attempt to escape what is causing the fear.

However it would mean going in and breaking her privacy. _Not like she has ever done that to us._ In my awkward sense of privacy, it is sometimes necessary to be broken. For the greater good, and all that jazz.

If I let my ring temporarily control me, it would act as if it were on a Sinestro Corp member- distorting the fear until it becomes pure terror. Not only would it would wake her up, it would empower me enough so that I could take on the devil.

Still, I run the great risk of the ring calling out to Sinestro and leading him to us, thereby placing the whole of YJ in danger.

" _Ring, do you have a homing beacon?_ " I mentally connect to my golden weapon.

" _Yes._ " it responds in a deeper and more gruff tone than the Green Lantern ring.

" _Disable it, until I give the order to re-activate._ " I order the accessory. A long pause follows as the ring obviously tries to decide between obeying protocol or the user. If this was a Green Lantern ring, it would have accepted it straight away.

" _Done, Yellow Lan-._ " the voice cuts off. " _Warning._ " it exclaims and I unwillingly duck, narrowly avoiding a blast of energy from the raging battle. It seems that the Sinestro Corps also has several of it's counterparts functions- beacons, safety protocols and etc.

Refocusing on the puzzle before me, I flicker between both courses of action. Until, I finally summon the resolve to go through with the plan. Bearing in mind that I have never done anything like this before, it's a stab in the dark.

Apprehensively, I point my yellow ring directly at the Martian's forehead. Instantly a horrid feeling tingles the back of my mind. Dread. It lingers in the background, waiting and motivating. The foreboding peaks when I eventually force my way into her powerful mind.

 _A desert?_ I stumble over sand as my eyes flicker around the barren landscape. But, a vital detail doesn't escape my notice. All around isn't the golden colour of sand, instead a dirty, copperish brown. _Mars._

"ahem!" something clear its throat behind me and I slowly turn, being met by Megan. "Kyle! What are you doing here!?" she gasps.

"Trying to wake you up!" I say.

"Aren't I already awake?" she tilts her head curiously at me, as though I am insane. "You are the one that's on Mars."

"Ahhh, I remember." I awkwardly mutter. "By the way... I'm really, really sorry for this."

Before she could open her mouth and ask 'what are you sorry for', I direct my ring at her and concentrate. She squirms on the spot and the desert swirls into an image of mount justice, but on fire. Screams echo around me as I can practically taste her growing fear; increasing by the second, she is reduced to quiet whimpers as she clutches her head protectively. Then, the shapes changed into a picture of Metropolis- covered in flames and with Superboy lying prone in the center.

The pictures start to bombard me. A funeral here, pain and agony there. Still, it's not enough to cause her unparalleled terror. So, I dig deeper.

A couple of times, I am almost compelled into stopping due to Megan's horrified expression. Yet another instinctual force drives me on to newer levels of fright. All the way through, my ring silently motivates, craving more of its energy. The power that I can feel coursing through me is unimaginable. Both brutal and satisfying, I want to have more. More fear, more power.

It clicks.

The last resistance dissolves within her, and the floodgates open. Her tears bring extra flavour to the final masterpiece; the deepest, most inner fear she holds.

The shock of the revelation takes me aback.

It's us- sneering and making disgusted noises, we yell at the oddly animalistic figure of a White Martian. However, the bigger secret unfolds as the tale goes on.

"You are a... beast." Kaldur glared.

"Disgusting." Wally said.

"Ugly." was Artemis' comment.

The only thing Robin did is shake his head. By far, the worst reaction of all was Superboy's.

He stares at the Martian with a fury that could shake the very Earth. "I trusted you! You lied! You are nothing but a monster!" the tone that has voice spoke in made it clear to me. This alien had to be Megan. No other person could cause Conner that much hurt, except her.

With a shooting migraine I open my eyes to the sight of Miss M, rigid and wide eyed. " _I don't know what that was all about. It mu-_ "

" _Don't worry, I understand._ " I interrupt, seeing that she was only putting herself in plenty more stress. Gently, I put my hand on her shoulder and squeeze. At first she flinches from the contact, yet soon she relaxes.

" _You do?_ " she asks, looking reluctantly at me.

" _Yeah. You should know this by now- Kyle Rayner doesn't judge by appearances._ " I respond. " _I'd hate to ruin the moment, but can you get Boy of Black T-Shirts and Birdie in here?_ "

Getting up, my head turns to the fight once more. _Damn, it's still going?_ Aqualad and Artemis are continuing to battle the weird wacko, albeit with plenty more bruises and cuts showing. _Choo-Choo, Kyle express is here!_ Within moments a yellow train smashed into the unsuspecting villain, catching him off guard. The two YJ members seize the opening and leap onto the boy, piling on in a comical struggle.

A red light seeps through the holes between bodies and my friends explode outwards, leaving me to save them by using a constructed bed.

"Where have you been!?" Artemis asks, jumping off the evaporating bed and into a ready stance.

"Getting backup." I answer and look at the ground around the room, spotting no downed bad guy. "El-Manta?"

"Gone. He snuck off during the battle." Kalder informs.

Above our heads Miss Martian floats, acting a little more confident than usual. "Now this isn't fair, is it? Four on one? Have you got any sense of honour?" our enemy tutts, wagging a finger.

"Make that six." Conner approaches from the rear with Robin at his side. "Ready to get some young justice?" he adds on, cracking his knuckles.

"Just when I was having fun." he sighs. "Smell you later."

Before we could even try to apprehend the villain, he merrily hops into some portal-thingy and disappears out of sight. Presumably, he has gone where we won't be able to find him. "Good riddance, creep!" I call out.

"Agreed." Aqualad says. "Get into the bio-ship and prepare to leave. I will rescue the Queen and bring her to the ship. We have something to discuss." he orders in his habitual monotonous voice, devoid of all noticeable emotion.

"Gladfully." Artemis huffs.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Once again, I am so sorry that this chapter took so long, but I have been experiencing computer problems and this literally took forever. I hope you enjoyed and be sure to check out my other books- Legends of Tommorow:Unite! and etc.**


	15. Kon-Fell

**A/N**

 **Hello, it's great to see you people again. I would give shoutouts for reviews, but for some reason they aren't showing in the reviews section. They have been counted and yet they don't appear. It's so weird.**

 **If you have a fix/solution for me, don't be afraid to message me.**

 **Also, 3,600 views and almost 30 reviews! Keep it up if you want to see the sequel.**

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Kon-Fell...**

 **11th October, 11:00AM- Mount Justice**

 **Kyle's POV**

"On behalf of Atlantis and its citizens, we cannot thank your brave souls enough. My people rejoice at the rescue of their beloved Queen, and as do I. Seeing you here, I have hope for the future of the Justice League. Young Justice has nothing more to prove, in my opinion. If the future is in your capable hands, it is a bright one indeed. Farewell."

Aquaman finishes his appreciation speech with a respectful bow, and promptly marches off into the zeta tube. With that, the gracious presence that he brought washes away, being replaced by the brooding figure of the Dark Knight.

"Thorough job. Not many in the league could have adapted to a situation of overwhelming odds." he comments, betraying the low and emotionless tone of his voice.

"There's that word again: overwhelming. Can't anyone just be whelmed." Robin mutters, catching an oddly amused glance from Batman.

"B03, Kid Flash."

The zeta tube announces as the speedster himself appears, clad in his usual banana yellow suit. With a funny looking stroll- elbows stuck out and mimicking a 1960's man from a commercial- he approaches the gathering with a smile. Until he notices that Batman is also stood at the front. Then, he quickly (without super-speed) changes into an even more amusing serious walk. Both chest pumped out and head held high, I swear that he is joking. If not, we need to have a conversation about seriousness.

"Join them, Kid Flash." Batman says.

Obeying without hesitation and apparently grateful for the invite, Wally ducks in between me and Superboy. "What've I missed?" was the question that I was generally expecting, and it eventually came. Due to the fact that Batman isn't speaking, he obviously knows that KF was going to ask it, as well.

"Oh, you know- saving an Atlantean Queen, and etc. You?" I respond.

"Tests! Can you believe that!?" he says in a hushed voice. "I'm a hero and they have me doing english at Central City high. Way to put people's lives in danger."

"That's why I skip school." I wink and before Wally could reply, Batman starts his debrief again.

"As you may have figured out, this rescue attempt may have been a trap." he says. "Not only for heroes, but _you_ specifically. This has not escaped the league's notice. Until further notice and ample investigation, you are confined to Mount Justice under the guard of Black Canary, Hawkgirl, and Shazam. I will notify your families." he adds on, shocking me deeply.

"I'm stuck here, _and with them_." I blurt out, earning me quizzical stares from the rest of Young Justice.

"That's what we are supposed to say about you." Artemis sighs.

"Come o-"

"No. Believe it or not, this is for your own safety." Batman interrupts my heartfelt appeal.

Giving one last glance at Robin, he swoops away with his cape theatrically flicking behind him. The darkness that he exudes lifts, and for a second I wonder if Batman is a natural depressant.

"It's not that bad, guys." Wally says.

The entire group- including me- faces Wally and in unison, we all give him the truth of the situation.

"It is!"

The disappointment of Wally's face spells out the dampening effect we just had on the cheery guy. "Fine. Let's all pretend that we don't like each other." he eventually huffs. "Conner and Megan." he awkwardly coughs, but it was clear enough that we could all hear it.

Superboy's face turns a slight red, yet judging by the lack of screaming, yelling or otherwise, it seems that the clone is mildly embarrassed. Oddly enough, I never imagined that it was a feature of his emotion span. Up until now, he has only gave off one vibe: anger. Now, we get a glimpse of the real Conner Kent- stumbling and shy.

"I've been meaning to tell you guys something." Artemis says, interfering and saving Superboy from harassment. The way her voice trembled means that whatever she has to say isn't good. Nevertheless, I'm still curious at to what the archer has to inform us about. "When we was on that mission a while ago, to get the Helmet of Fate back. I heard something that is still bugging me, and I never told you. I'd thought that it wasn't relevant, but it makes sense now." she continues, hooking us into a state of absolute curiosity. "I heard something about _the light._ "

The reveal clenches my gut in realisation. Considering that I have heard that word before, albeit from an old man, I am thoroughly taken aback by the discovery. _Why didn't I tell them. If I did, this would have come into perspective sooner._

"I also heard something about that." I divulge, so the group turns on me.

"You have?" Artemis hopefully asks.

"You have?" Miss Martian repeats, though I have no idea why.

"Yeah... it was from that geezer- Ra's al Ghul. He started going into some mumbo-jumbo about how 'all will see the light', or something like that." I answer, recalling the encounter vividly. "At first, I thought nothing of it. After all, the guy was a complete wacko."

"This is an interesting coincidence." Kaldur thoughtfully says.

"Or not a coincidence at all." Robin inputs. "Ever since that mission, we have been in the firing line. We have run into the heavy hitters- Black Adam, Sinestro and others. What if Batman is right? Maybe something is coming after us."

"Not something." was Kaldur's response. "Someone."

"Well... who is it?" Conner asks the vital question, however fails to notice that we hardly have the answer right now. "If they want to come after us, let them come. YJ will take down anyone."

"We appreciate the confidence, Conner. But... perhaps this is beyond us. The person behind this must be intelligent, managing to fool the league into sending us on these missions." Robin rejects the suggestion, biting his lip in deep reflection.

"One things for sure: they underestimated us." I say.

"They never expected us to be powerful in our rights." Aqualad agrees.

"Okay, can somebody come up with a plan? We are on mountain arrest with three adults watching us." Kid Flash says. "That's not including all of the questions we need answering. Someone has to know something."

"Well... we know that one person is connected to the light. Ra's al Ghul himself." I speak up.

"Let's get him." Conner cracks his neck muscles.

"First off, we get out of Mount Justice." Robin suggests, gesturing to the league members that have strolled in, via several tips of the head and flickers of his eyes. "Got any ideas? It has to be good- these aren't pushovers."

"Ask them nicely?" Miss M apprehensively suggests.

"Uh... no." Artemis shuts her down as softly as possible. "Maybe... one of us distracts them, and the rest sneak out." she raises her eyebrows directly at me. Following suit, the others turn to me, using peer pressure to the max. "Kyle."

"Hell n-, how can y-, Rob, please." I plead to the boy wonder. "Don't let them force me."

"Take one for the team." he smirks.

 **Wally West's POV**

" _What do you guys think he's gonna do?_ " I ask the remainder of Young Justice, talking about Kyle. He left around five minutes ago, saying that he has an idea that will blow us away. This had better be within the boundaries of an acceptable distraction, as we don't want things to go wild. Still, faith in my friends is a quality I admire about myself. Apart from my handsome face, of course.

" _I have absolutely no clue,_ " Artemis replies. "a _nd that's what scares me._ "

Opposite us lie the three guardians, staring us down ruthlessly. By that, I mean Black Canary and Hawkgirl, as Shazam is stuffing his face with practically everything that is inside our refrigerator. Cake, Chicken, you name it.

Out of nowhere, Kyle pops up in... sweat pants and a tank top?

"Such a good day to stretch, don't ya think?" he theatrically intakes air. The shocked expressions of the den mothers are so funny that I had to clench my teeth, to not laugh. Whereas I find this hysterical, YJ are also in a state of complete horror. "Agghhhh." he extends upwards and cracks his back, winking at us in the process.

"Oh god." someone in our group whispers.

Then, he bends over... _in front of Black Canary and Hawkgirl._ "Feel the burn." he laughs and goes down further, therefore pushing his rear up. The sight is truly something to behold for the ages; comparable to the day that I became Kid Flash.

Frightened and in deep mental trouble, the leaguers have turned into living rocks. Their eyes appear to be permanentely glued to the view of Kyle Rayner doing squats, stretches, and making strange grunting noises at the same time.

"Guys, that's our cue." I whisper and the others silently nod, still fixated.

"Get me out of here." Conner groans and spins around, tripping over on his own legs and catapulting to the ground. The sound was a tremendous slap and I am sure that they must have heard that. Although, they don't turn around, fully entranced by the unorthodox distraction.

"Get up, and let's disappear." Robin orders out of the corner of his mouth.

"Gladly." Artemis pitches in.

"I must admit, it is not a sight to marvel at." Kaldur remarks.

"I think he's doing pretty good. It must be relaxing." Megan smiles, and skips away.

Taking our well deserved leave, we all bound away in the direction of the bio-ship. Sometime in between, I wonder how Kyle will get away from the adults. Surely, he can find a way. He is Kyle, after all.

 **Kyle's POV**

 _The things I do for this team. Since when is overt distraction apart of the hero job description? And why couldn't the other completely embarrass themselves for eternity. I'm never going to escape this,_ I muse, continuing to entice and astound the older superheroes. Next, I do lunges, making sure to emphasise the moans and the exhales of pleasure. _These guys are getting their dreams come true._

Yet, the fact remains.

For somebody that tried to be deadly serious about everything-if only for a short while- I have miserably failed in those attempts. Even with the yellow and red rings, I can't stop myself from having too much fun. That's the beauty of my personality, or so I think. Whether in the worst or best situation, I let my humour do it's work, and improve everyone's moral. However, people (like Batman, Wonder Woman, and etc) view it as a bad thing. As though I'm putting everybody off their games.

Anyhow, I need to figure out how I'm going to rendezvous with the gang. Either through subtle movements or fleeing for my life, I can't stay whilst my friends are off on a mission to take down some mysterious organisation/thing. "Okkkaaayyy." I sigh, letting out all doubts and embarrassment from my mind. "It's show time." _This is probably going to fail, but at least I made an attempt to escape._ Slowly halting and turning around, I plaster a silly grin on my face. _Time for plan A._

"Time to get a shower, and have some quality beauty sleep." I announce and march straight for the showers, but then swerve to the left and redirect to the hanger. _Smooth exit,_ I cheerily gloat and escape with my dignity partially back.

* * *

Now in the biological ship itself, the silence is full of tension on my part. No thanks to the routine, they are no doubt scared to open their mouth. Or even think, for that matter. _Can't say I blame them._

"Sooooo... are we... going somewhere?"

My question was met by more silence, and uncomfortable shifts from Wally and Robin. If I look to the right, I can see the expression on Superboy's face. Remarkably, he seems to be almost normal- little bit of annoyed, and the rest angry. I actually expected him to be the most affected by the display, but then he has always been detached.

"We are going to Nanderparbat." Robin gingerly divulges, avoiding my gaze. "to find Ra's and question him."

"Are we going to just walk in, or do we have some kind of amazing, hero worthy plan, that even Michael Bay couldn't have come up with? Because if we are, I have dibs on being at the back, so I can run away." I ask.

"Yes. We have a plan." the boy wonder says.

"Care to divulge, Rob?"

"Just tell him, it can't be worse than the thing he just did. Besides, what's the worse that could go wrong?" Artemis motivates Robin, returning my glance with a confusingly weird stare, almost as if she is analysing me.

"Okay." Robin puffs. "Ra's has something called the Lazarus Pit. It's what keeps him alive and heals him if he sustains serious injuries. So, if we find a way to disable it, we can blackmail him into telling us about the light."

"And... that's a dumb plan." I say.

"I don't think it's a bad plan." Miss Martian speaks up from the pilot's seat.

"What you are talking about is threatening a manipulative ninja into giving us information." I raise an eyebrow. "Not the best of ideas. He could turn it around on us, by not caring about the pit."

"So?" Conner sneers. "If he refuses to tell us, then I guess I will have to beat it out of him."

"Great logic, Conner- Beat up a guy that has obviously been alive for a long time, and experienced at least twice of much pain as that." I shoot back.

"What do you suggest, Kyle?" Kaldur asks.

"We..." I pause as I try to come up with some genius plan that would be the most fantastic one possible. "I got nothing." I eventually sigh.

"We stick to Robin's plan, and coerce Ra's into gifting us the information." Aqualad closes out the conversation. "We will discuss how we will do this as we get closer to his base. Until then, only a small amount of talking, please." he nods towards me, Artemis, and Wally.

"Sure thing."

"Okay."

"Whatever."

Once we all sheepishly accept the offer, we are (not) legally bound to shut up. In my opinion, I don't see what's so bad about talking and socialising. In terms of teamwork and friendship, speaking is the next step to full-on fairytail companionship. With all happiness, and stuff.

Talking is like logic. Some people have tons of it in them, and the rest don't. Harsh fact of life.

"Are you guys ready?" I ask.

"For what?" Conner snaps.

"Well... if we really are serious about going after this 'light'- or whatever it is-then we need to make sure we have the resolve to see it through. Kinda... finish what we started. Otherwise, it's a fool's errand, and we don't stand a chance." was my wise response. _Yeah, I am wise._

"It would apply, if we knew what to finish." Aqualad says. "But yes, we must all make that decision... ready, or not."

"I'm ready." Supes announces. "Whatever they throw at us, I know we can win. Nothing has beaten us so far, and we should keep it that way. We are a team. We are..." he pauses, and looks to all of our faces. "family."

"OMG!" I gasp.

"Me too!" Wally says.

"Shut up, before I take it back." he menacingly growl, glaring. "I mean it! I'll end you!"

"Of course you do, man. That's like the millionth time you've threatened me in the past week alone." I shrug, infuriating him further. Apart from the usual banter, Conner can be a tad overzealous at times, and really inhibits his social skills. By next week, he will stumbling over asking Megan out or not. "A little help, Megan?"

"Uh... do you know my name isn't Megan, right?" she asks.

"It isn't?" Wally raises one of his ginger eyebrows. "Can you tell us, sugarpuff?" he carries on, much to the fury of Conner. Over the past month, Conner has slowly stamped some kind of mark on Miss Martian. It's actually disturbing how protective he gets of her. So, Wally is on the verge of a major beat down.

"My name is M'gann."

Curiously, the way she pronounced it is very interesting. Instead of 'may-gan', it sounds more like 'me-gan'. Odd name choice, that's for certain.

"Me-Me-me-gan. Me-gan. M'gann?" Wally wholeheartedly tries to pronounce it correctly. "Did I get that right?"

"Yes!" Miss M claps in glee.

"Weird name... M'gann." Conner remarks, but not in a malicious tone, and more of a general statement.

"Says the guy named ' _Kon-EL_ '" I defend her. "Or should I say... _Kon-Fell_." I patiently wait for any snickers or even the softest of snorts. But no... nothing. "Come on, guys?"

"No, man. Just no." Wally facepalms.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Hope you enjoyed and I'll try and fix the review jazz.**


	16. Price of Life

**A/N**

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* * *

 **Chapter 16: The Price Of Life**

 **Robin's POV**

Phase one- a combination of pure genius from me and the careful planning of Aqualad. Firstly, we need someone on the inside; someone who can help the others to infiltrate the fortress undetected. And of course, they picked me. Robin- the Boy Wonder- can do everything, apparently. Do the near impossible here and study for exams whilst battling villains, there. Sometimes, I wish my life wasn't always centered around what people expect of me, Batman included.

So, I am not surprised that I am being dragged in front of Ra's al Ghul by two heavily muscled (compared to me) men. The practical odds of me actually achieving what I set out to do, is at an all-time low. I might as well tell the assassins where to find the others.

Being forcefully brought to my knees, I push out the powerlessness creeping into my head. Sure, the assassins are fully grown human males with expert training, and I am a scrawny teenager with family issues, but I'm sure I can find a way to escape this particular predicament. All I need is a bit of luck, and skill.

"Far away from your nest are you not, little bird?"

Al Ghul's question was laced in spite and the rest was amusement. Yet, whenever I'm caught, the bad guys always have to comment on the whole 'Robin' thing. Can't they just act as if I was any other member of the Justice League? Because I am... sorta.

"I've finally took flight, so the nest is irrelevant." I wittily shoot back. Then, I come up with an insult for the ages. "Don't toads always stay close to their ponds?" I make a jab at the Lazarus Pit and Ra's having constant contact which other. It's fair to say that Ra's wasn't all too happy about me implying he's a toad.

Instead of glaring or killing me where I stand, he actually sighs. "There is no need for animosity between us, boy wonder. After all, I did train your master in his ways."

"A bit late for that, don't you think?" I raise my eyebrows.

"Join me, and together we shall give the world the justice it deserves." Ra's suggests, extends his hand for me to take. _Does this madman really think that I would dump Bruce for him?_

"I'm overwhelmed by your offer," I say, watching as twinkle of victory sparks in Ra's eyes. _It's going to be fun seeing the hope fade from his eyes._ "but... not a chance in any sort of the twisted hell you would bring upon the world!"

 **Kyle's POV**

When Robin said for us to wait for him around the back, I am pretty sure he didn't mean for us to wait like imbeciles at the front gate. We did try to find a back, but it's backed up against- and built around- a mountain. _Where did he expect us to find a back entrance? This isn't some fantasy story where everyone has an escape hatch._ "Is he done yet?" I exhaustedly ask the gang, for around the third time.

"I swear, if you say that again, I will rip your head off." Superboy snaps with an empty threat. Of all the times he has threatened my life, he has only attempted to carry it out once. Which was when I asked if I could borrow his shirt, as AC/DC wants it back. Oddly, it took him a moment to realise what I said, and then he put me through a wall.

"I second that." Artemis speaks up.

"You wouldn't let them do that to me, would you, M'gann?" I ask.

"Of course not!" she exclaims, as though I just cursed out her entire family in on sentence. Maybe it's a Martian thing. "They won't hurt you, Kyle. Will they?" she directs at the two assaulters, to which Conner blushes and Artemis rolls her eyes.

"Somebody's in looovvveee." I tease Superboy.

His eyes go wide for a second, but next his face turns a bright crimson. "Thats it!" he lunges for me.

However, he didn't seem to realise that he is at a major disadvantage. At this specific moment in time, Conner is at an extremely high level of rage. Considering that my red ring is charged with rage, he is only adding more power to me. One constructed wall later, and he goes headfirst into the red hard light. _Ouch, that has got to hurt._

Aqualad apparently hears the brief scuffle and zooms over with Wally. "What is going on!?" he demands in a serious tone, but without yelling it at us. "Do you want to jeopordise the mission and Robin's safety by alerting the entire league to our presence!?" he rhetorically asks.

"Not cool, guys; not cool." Wally supports Kaldur's correct accusations.

By now, Conner has picked himself up from the floor and is glaring kryptonian daggers at me. "Nothing is going on."Superboy unexpectantly lies, though I'm assuming he doesn't want to provoke any further shouting and violence. _See you in the next one, Kon-El,_ I wink at him, although he doesn't react. That's a shame, as I was really starting to enjoy the whole dance.

"If you are done squabbling, I have received no signal from Robin. M'gann, if you please." Aqualad reveals, hinting for the Martian to probe for him.

Miss Martian closes her eyes and concentrates for a few moments, letting out the occasional huff and humm in annoyance. So far, it's not looking too good for the Bat-brat. "Nothing." M'gann informs us.

"Where is he?" Superboy asks the most obvious question that humanity or otherwise could come up with. Apart from that, if the Martian can't find him, how could we possibly know. "Are we going in? If Robin has been caught, we have to rescue him."

I sigh. "I must say, your bravery is so inspiring and all, but we sorta need a better plan than that. Maybe... me, Conner and Aqualad take the brunt of the heavy fighter, Miss M and Wally can search for our unfortunate setback, whilst Artemis carries on with the original plan, and blackmail Ra's. Questions?"

Usually, I tend to stay back and let the others plan out the missions and that's normally because we have Robin to plan. Since he's gone, the duty falls to the next intelligent- ergo me. _Seems solid- a little basic, but straightforward is easy, right?_ I review my own plan, pleasantly satisfied.

"Guys... did he just tell us what to do?" Wally asks, confused.

"I think he did." Artemis affirms.

"Okay, listen up!" I snap. "Lives- particularly Robin- are at stake, and you are stood bickering about me taking charge. For once since I joined this team, can you just _TRUST ME_!?" I end up yelling, breaking the silence rule that Aqualad implemented. _That was too loud._

"Someone forgot to take their pills this morning." Artemis taunts. _I'm so done, it's not even funny anymore._

Our conversation was finally interrupted by the droning blare of an alarm siren, signalling that the headquarters is under attack... by us. It's call beckons the assassins to guard the perimeter and places them on automatic alert, meaning that we have our job made tem times more difficult. All thanks to me and my stupidly loud mouth, causing the day to turn sour _again._ Well, at least this time we have the chance of Robin escaping and destroying the insides like a colourfully dressed virus.

Thankfully, the sudden change in complexity sparked them to follow my orders, with us smoothly organising into the groups I commanded. At the forefront of the assault are the 'big boys' - the lucid lantern, the amicable Atlantean, and the clone crusher. _Me and Aqua look like roses compared to him._

The thought brings me a hearty smile as we literally smash through the walls surrounding the League of Assasin's hideout, ready for a battle of the ages. Under our combined mights, not many people could stand up against us. Just ask the weirdo kid, sprouting horns out of his head. " _Split off, we'll handle this._ " Conner orders to the support teams, seeing the amassed soldiers in the first courtyard.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I see them obey and respectively head to their tasks. As for the three of us, it's about time we get a taste of revenge. And due justice, of course. "You ready, guys?" I ask my allies, just as the mass swarm- around one hundred men- start to charge at us.

"Don't grow overconfident, Kyle; underestimation is the downfall of the majority of combatants." Kaldur predictably answers.

As for Conner, his response was a standard grunt, followed closely by him leaping into the air. _Always the aggressor, aren't you?_

Solid ground quakes as he smashes into the ground, viciously throwing the human men and women into the air. "Calm down Conner, they are normal!" I tell him, using a bugswatter to knock out a group of assassins with ease. "They are easily breakable." I wince as Conner picks a woman up by the neck and launches her into a wall.

For me, the battle is turning out to be relatively easy and boring. Whatever they throw at me- arrows, punches, kicks, and blades- they can't penetrate the protective aura surrounding me. "Sticks and stones cannot break my bones." I say, observing as arrows clatter off my chest. "But obscene language can." I remark at the very hearable cursing that Conner is letting out. _Who taught a one-year-old those words? I haven't seen classes which say censorship galore._

Unexpectadly, the back of my head rings and I spin around in pain. Woe and behold, a scared assassin, holding a bent longsword in his hands. Without my armour, that things would have split open my head like a watermelon. Still, I shake my head. "You brought a sword to a superpower fight?" then, I shot a lowered-power energy blast into his chest, sending him to the ground, comparable to a bowling pin. _Oh gosh, great idea!_

Due to the cognitive powers of the lantern rings, I was able to construct a massive bowling ball with a single thought. The joys of being an emotional wreck.

Cheerily directing it into the main body of troops, I watch as my masterpiece unfolds. Causing untold hysteria and panic, the ball runs over several people, harming but not severely damaging them. _I'm so grateful these things have safety functions._

"How are you peeps holding up!?" I shout across the playground. "Especially you Conner, I know you sometimes have problems with controlling your anger! Like now!"

"Just... you... wait!" he shoots back with another of his mildly annoying threats that he never seeks to carry out. Once, I swear that he has some kind of verbal problems. You never know, he could be meaning to say 'I love you!', or 'have a happy day!', however that's unlikely.

"That's the third threat today, man; you really need to sort that out! You're constantly hurting my feelings!"

"Shut... UP!"

 **Meanwhile- Wally West's POV**

Sprinting around the second level- stopping occasionally to deal with rare guard- I still haven't found any signs of my homie. According to Miss M, her searches have also come up negative and fruitless. So much for the whole point of running around and getting Robin back. How are we supposed to find him? By constantly checking every room? Because that sucks; my energy really needs a boost.

" _Found him._ "

Miss Martian makes me skid to an abrupt halt, almost hitting a wall in the process. It takes me a moment to process what was said.

" _Okay... I just heard something that suspiciously sounded like 'found him' and if that's true, I'm going to kiss you._ _And I'm not joking, I will seriously kiss you until I die from asphyxiation._ " I mentally speak, which keeps on mildly creeping me out. Having another person in your head is really awkward.

" _He's on the third floor... in the throne room. He must have just regained consciousness. I'll tell him we are on the way_ ." M'gann completely ignores me. Or she wants to play the ignorance card, because she's into me. That's right Wally, she's into you. " _Get there as quick as you can._ "

Crouching into a ready position, I prepare to sprint. " _Baby... I was born to be fast._ " with that I speed off down the vast, open corridors, gaining more speed as I go along. " _I'm on my way, Rob._ "

Whilst running at my hindered speed capacity, I get a few seconds to mull recent events over. First of all, it really went down on Mount Justice. At the moment Batman returns to MJ, he will realise with escaped and will go bat-crazy. Secondly, aren't we technically dissenters now? Disobeying the league, going off on our own missions, and purposely deceiving three senior members; all of which we are guilty of. My only hope is that Uncle Barry can find a way to forgive me. Although, I'm sure he will eventually understand, once I tell him the full details of our little adventures/quest-thingy.

Apart from the obvious fractures in our small team- mainly Kyle vs Conner- I would say that we in the Young Justice are good friends that know each other very well. Too well, in Kyle's case. Does my bro ever stop talking? Yeah, I talk the talk, but not all the time. Compared to him, who sees everything as one big joke. He is very funny, I'll give him that much.

Finally reaching the designated target, I screech to a stop in front of a tied boy wonder. "I got you, Rob." I assure my best friend and cut off his arm binds with a sword I found on the wall, and he could easily undo the rest.

"Thanks, KF. I owe you one. Those ropes were tied up pretty complex." Robin winces as he soothingly rubs his wrists.

"I caught this one snooping around my pit." Ra's al Ghul calmly strolls into the room, dragging in a limp Artemis. "This is the second time I have defeated her, but there won't be a third."

"Artemis!" Robin restrains me from charging the evil, sadistic ughhh. " _M'gann, we need your help. Ra's has Artemis and we can't get to the pit._ " I look over to the pool in the other end of the large room. " _But... you can_."

" _I can't! I don't have anything to poison it with!_ "

Staring defiantly into Ra's al Ghul's cold eyes, I make a choice that could destroy our whole plan. " _He doesn't know that. We'll distract him._ "

"Are you listening to me? Ignorant fools." Ra's asks, infuriated. "The nerves you must have- coming here and invading my home, whilst ignoring me."

Robin glances at me. "Yeah, KF. You never listen to other people's problems." his eyes flicker slightly, begging me to play along.

So, I do. "Me!? You are always so obsessed with being like Batman, you never spend time with me! I seriously thought we had some sort of bromance going on! And you always go 'shut up, KF', or 'stop being immature, KF' and you never say 'well done, KF'!"

"That's because you are immature! Just yesterday, you sat there singing Justin Bieber. You're such a... belieber." Robin insults, although I actually take it deeply.

"Fine, you want this to be personal; let's be personal. I spend a whole ten minutes of my life watching you look at yourself in the mirror, and I have to say it bro: you look like a blind man had a kid, when you have those stupid glasses on." I riposte.

"Really?" Robin breaks the act with a genuine question.

"Enough!" Ra's slams his foot down on the floor. "How dare you waste your time squabbling in my presence! Do you not have respect!?"

Both me and Rob look to each other and then to Ra's. "No." we both say at the same time.

"And I certainly don't!"

Our collective attentions are forced to the sight of M'gann dominantly floating over the pit, holding a... test tube. " _Smart_."I compliment the quick thinking of our resident alien.

"Let them go, or I poison your pit for... however long this lasts." M'gann threatens, however with less conviction than her words betrayed. Ra's glares at M'gann, discerning her intentions and whether she would do it or not. I am certain that he would see through her bravado.

But, he doesn't.

"Very well." he steps away from Artemis and allows Robin to drag her to us.

"Tell us about the light?" was her next demand.

A quiver of Ra's' lips tells me he wasn't expecting that. Yet, it quickly shapes into a foreboding smile. "I usually wouldn't, but I have no doubt that you will fail to find in your misguided quest to destroy it. Grodd is the gorilla to ask." he answers, but soon keels over theatrically.

Kyle appears as he drops, grimacing at the fall. "Ouch." he comments. "Well creep, you're coming with us."

Superboy and Aqualad bring up the rear of the lantern, sharing a content expression.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I hope you enjoyed, and prepare for some Kyle background stories and etc in the next chapter.**


	17. Grasping at Straws

**A/N**

 **Welcome back people, ready for the feels? And, well... the usual.**

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* * *

 **Chapter 17: Grasping At Straws...**

 **Kyle's POV- Bio-ship**

Sat fairly comfortably in my reclinable (not real?) chair, I relax to the soothing motions of the bio-ship. Next to a commercial airliner, I would take this any day of the month. Public ones tend to full of civvies, and I can't handle that. Even when I was a civilian, back in the old days of the practical orphan with no friends. That's not even counting the fact that I had to look after myself, considering my dad took off, and mom... went to heaven.

"Kyle!"

Choosing to ignore the call and fall back into the relaxing movements of the flight, my eyes flutter closed.

"I swear, if you are ignoring me, I will teach you how I deal with jerks!"

And, carry on ignoring.

"Kyle! Kyle!"

She's growing louder by the second, but I want to see how persistent Artemis is.

" _Kyle!_ " she yells once again, followed shortly by a shooting pain in the back of my head, abruptly ending the fragile inner serenity I had created. Artemis does have an irritating knack of attempting to harm, severely injure, harass, or insult, at every available opportunity. Luckily, I find it quite... charming.

Gingerly, I rub the rear of my skull. "Geez, Artemis! Can't you go a whole day without psysically assaulting me!? You're lucky I'm a chilled guy." I spin the chair around to face Artemis, a deep look on her face. As for the rest of the team, the moonlit sky had lolled them to sleep an hour ago. After they had checked on Ra's, of course- currently rotting in M'gann's makeshift brig above the ship. It's a literal extension of the ship made by telepathy.

"I'm sorry." she unexpectedly apologises, concerning me on a whole other level. Whatever is bothering her must be pretty shocking. To her, at least. "I shouldn't have hit you. It was mean." _okay... that feeling I just had is amplified by a billion percent._

"It's alright... no biggie." I awkwardly assure her, partially wondering where this conversation is going. "What did you wanna... talk about?"

She shakes her head. "It's nothing, really." she leans forward in her seat, edging dangerously close to me. _Shoot me... now... please!_ "I just wanted to talk about you, and you know... learn more about you. If we're a team, we might as well know each other." she says. "That's if you want to, of course" she quickly adds on at the end.

By now, levels of anxiety have reached critical and beyond. "Okay... sure, whatever, presto. Okay dok- just get on with it." my stalling only annoys me instead of Artemis, so I regrettably lash out.

"Alright... how do I put this?" she looks to the ceiling of the ship, for some odd reason. I mean, is that going to give her guidance, because I have never seem or heard the roof talk. Never. And I have witnessed some next level weirdness. "This might sound awkward, but I'm just going to say it." _the tension is real._ "Do you have any friends?"

"Hey!" I snap, and she turns near red.

"No, no, no; not like that, I promise." she quickly responds. "What I meant is... do you really know anybody outside of YJ?"

"Of course, I do." I gasp at the accusation. "There's Billy, Alex, and..." I stop listing names when she gives me the most unbelieving nod I have seen. _Come on, Kyle... you can tell her. It's not that big of a deal,_ I assure myself. "Fine. What do you want me to say!? That I'm a loner and I have nobody!? News flash: not everyone grows up in a stable family that loves you. And when your dad decides that we aren't worth his time, he takes off! Leaving mom and me with nothing!" I take a deep breath, pushing down the growing anger. "rant=done."

Silence follows as Artemis' face remains eerily still, begging from me to ask if she is okay. Something I said must have struck a chord with her, otherwise she wouldn't look like someone who won the jackpot in Vegas. Not the little ones, the _huge_ ones.

"Tell us more." Robin sits straight in his chair, almost perfectly mimicking a psychiatrist. And I am his mentally ill patient. "It's always good to just let things out every once in a while. Inner peace soon follows."

"Sure, Sensei Robin."

"I'm not joking."

"Well, I am. It's the only way I can deal with this garbage. That includes the literal and metaphorical garbage of life."

Wally's head pops up from around his chair. "Man, we're here for you. Just let it all out, as Rob said. Uggh... thanks bro, you're making me want to sing Frozen now." Kid Flash solemnly stares into the empty space at the center of the cockpit; no doubt reciting the lyrics in his mind like the diva he is.

"Sorry, KF" the boy wonder sighs, and then returns his gaze to me. "Anything particular you want to discuss?" _No thanks, as that's a road nobody wants to go down. Especially with all the stuff from my past itching to be a nuisance._

" _I'll be there will you, Kyle._ " M'gann's voice pierces through my head, making me wish my ring did better at stopping that. " _Just as you were there by me. When I needed support the most, you showed up and was kinder than I ever imagined. Believe it or not, the team are also compassionate._ "

Deciding that maybe it is time that my memories resurface, I have no clue how they will react, if at all. So, the only rational thing to do is take the plunge on this one, and damn the consequences. This won't be pretty.

"Where to begin?" I ask no-one in particular. By now, the entire team is awake and listening attentively, on the edge of their seats. "Let's start off at the beginning. One day, my dad left and never came back, it sucked, but at least I still had my amazing mom. She did everything possible to provide for me- juggling jobs, making sure I was ready for school, and paying the bills. I was the outcast at school. I never talked or played with the other kids, and soon I was being bullied, which also sucked. But, at least I still had my mom, right? Nope. Life enjoyed making me miserable and giving my mom cancer was the next trick, and guess what... it sucked. At this point, I was around thirteen, and clueless. Yet... one thing kept me going..."

"Your mom." Robin wipes a tear away. Poor kid. He's only a child compared to us and he is the most experienced. In Gotham, no less. "I lost my mom too."

"School?" Conner asks, more out of confusion than actually recognition. "Or music?"

Wally incredulously shakes his head. "OMG, you guys, don't you know how the majority of hero stories start? A tragic thing happens and the hero- Kyle- grows a sense of morality and a thirst for justice. Oh... and sorry, Rob."

"You're all wrong." Artemis says, glueing her eyes on me. "He realised that life is always fixable and no matter what, he was determined to carry on. He didn't become a Green Lantern out of nowhere." _Oh boy._

"An interesting and enlightening story, Kyle. Please, continue." Aqualad near enough orders me. "Spare no detail."

"Artemis nailed it, but she shouldn't have. When I was driven to change my life, I did it by any means necessary- being paid to protect other kids from bullies and etc. Turns out, people actually will fork at the cash to have a bodyguard for their kid. The next day, my mom died and I went into foster care. And before you ask, I'm not there anymore; I crash at Hal's instead. Thus, I was a complete vagabond up until the ring chose me." I start the next phase of my adventurous story. " To answer Artemis' question... I have never had 'friends' per se, but I do know people. You guys are really, the only friends I've ever had. Enjoy it whilst it lasts, kiddos. Life has a way of eternally wanting to ruin me."

"That's... deep." Conner mutters.

"Ditto," Artemis agrees.

"You don't have to say anything else." Robin says. Underneath his eyes are trail marks where tears have rolled down, sparked by my story. "We understand." he turns and looks reflectfully out of the window.

" _Are you okay?_ " Miss M asks, concerned.

" _I'm great, but you really should be checking in on Robin. For some reason, it hit him hard._ " I deflect the concern onto the person that needs it more. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact they care and it's very reassuring, but Robin needs it more. " _I knew I shouldn't have said anything._ "

"It's not that bad... I thought you were about to say you joined a gang or something like that. Protecting people isn't bad." Wally speaks up.

"For money." was my rejoinder. "I did it for the money, not to do good."

"It doesn't matter, Kyle, I think that it was destiny guiding you." Artemis smiles.

I huff at her misconception. "First off: destiny is something that few have and everybody wants. Destiny doesn't dictate your actions, but gives you a purpose in life. Whereas, fate is what everyone has and few want. It's the idea that you aren't in control of your life and you are predetermined to do certain things. So, you should've said fate."

Shocked and astonished faces surround me. Even Robin stops his procrastinating and swerves his head to stare in shock.

"Since when were you a philosopher?" Superboy snorts from the background.

"Since I decided to help you in your failing classes." I shoot back at him. He quickly shuts his mouth to avoid further roasting from the king of verbal destruction. "Any other questions/suggestions/attempted insults?" I ask the rest, who immediately shake their heads. "School ended. Back to sleep, everyone."

Obeying with the timidness of a child walking into the dark, they return to their comfortable positions and lie back, trying their absolute best to drift off again. Whilst they do that, Artemis continues to glance at me from her seat every few seconds. _She needs to learn the meaning of sleep,_ I think and recline in my own chair.

Focusing on the smooth cruise of the ship, my eyes slowly close and calmness takes over the anxiety from telling the tale. Taking every detail of the responses into account, it didn't go as badly and soppy as planned, excluding Robin's breakdown. Once again, poor kid. Living in the Batman's care must be heavily stressful. Kid Flash made sure to apologise to Robin, and I want to find out why one was needed. He could have done it because he was crying; helping him out. Or, it was an aspect of my story that triggered horrible memories.

Occasionally, I have cried myself over the thoughts and the daily struggle to fit in. And eventually, I did become a member of a family.

This one.

The notion brings me a smile as I fade off.

 **October 12th, 07:00AM - Mount Justice**

Pursing my lips, I definitely want to avoid talking at the moment, judging by the way Batman is silently looking over us, comparable to a vulture waiting for a scrap to pounce on.

"I have decided to let you go on your lead. You did an effective job at taking down Ra's and I believe that you are ready to take the next step." Batman announces after doing one last sweep of our faces. "Don't make me regret this." with that he disappeared from our sights via the zeta tube.

"I'm going to regret it more." I pine.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Hope you enjoyed. This was meant to be 3,000 words and I did the last 1,000 three times and I couldn't get it right in my mind. Sorry for that, and goodbye for now.**


	18. Good Gorilla?

**A/** **N**

 **Chapter 18? Is this for real? And yet 4,400 reads? The glory of this site, I suppose.**

 **Reviews:**

 **kash890: Sweating out of the eyes is a serious medical condition and should be taken seriously. Go see your local doctor!**

 **patattack: You are 'the man' and don't you say otherwise!**

 **MoustachedCat: Whilst reading your review, I started to cry. Is that normal? As for the ages, here we go. Robin is 13, but I'd say he was 12. Superboy is 1. Kaldur is 16. Artemis is 15, and Kyle and Wally are 16. Miss M is 48, I think.**

 **Elvisfonz23: ... need I say more?**

* * *

 **Chapter 18: Good... Gorilla?**

 **Kyle's POV**

"Where are you!?" the obviously angered and demanding Black Canary questions over the communications, begging the question 'have they realised that we are missing yet' and judging by the fact that she is here calling us, they have already noticed. _We are so dead when we get back..._

"Nowhere in particular." Robin was the first of us to take the initiative. "I believe we are going on an educational day trip. To..."

"We heard that the Amazon rainforest is very educational this time of year." I save Robin from slipping up. "If we come back, we will miss out on this wondrous opportunity." I try my best to hide the sarcasm of my voice by keeping a relatively straight face, despite the several temptations.

"Do you know the meaning of 'do not leave'?" she then nonchalantly asks.

Wally instantly opens his mouth to respond, but I close it with a swift slap on the back of his head. Looking at me innocently, I stare him down until he sighs and relaxes in his chair. _That's one less nuisance out of the way,_ I think and refocus my whimsical attention.

"We understand your concern, Black Canary, and we want you to know that we will be quite content and safe in our travels." Kaldur speaks up in his usual blank expression. However, it's a rare situation indeed that the stubbornly noble Aqualad would lie, even to ensure that the mission could go ahead. On the other hand, I lie nearly every time I open my mouth, so I can comprehend Kaldur's decision to deceive. "Anything else?"

A drawn-out pause follows as Canary apparently has a choice to make in regards to the members of Young Justice. The whirring of brain cells can be heard by us in the form of the occasional mumble or whisper. "Whatever you kids are doing, it had better be worth it." she eventually concludes and the communication ends with that.

No-one aboard the ship dares make a sound as the realisation dawns upon our young minds. This is it. There is no going back now. If we are to finish what we started, we need to collect our thoughts and prepare to possibly be rejected from the Justice League. Disobedience (even when Batman says you can leave) is heavily frowned upon and I'm sure Wonder Woman will have our heads for this indiscretion.

"Sweet mother of any kind soul that has ever existed, that was intense." Wally breaks the silence.

"Thanks for stating the blatantly obvious." Artemis sighs. "What now? Go on some ridiculous quest to find our not-so-secret stalkers, without backup or anyone knowing what we're doing? Sounds perfect."

Robin purposely coughs to get our undivided focus. "Well... at least we won't have the 'adults' breathing down our necks for a while, so we shouldn't waste any more time than we have to. Which means that all of us have to listen to Kaldur." he says. "Artemis, Kyle, and Wally. That's pointed at you guys." he adds on for emphasis.

"Great." Artemis mutters, but I only just hear it.

"Where do we begin, Kaldur?" Robin invites the Atlantean to take the reins of the briefing. "Start off at the whole point at the mission."

Sternly, Aqualad looks to us every one of us as though figuring out something. An educated guess is that he's quickly formulated a plan for us young rebels. Yet, he doesn't divulge his planning and just stares at us, judgefully.

Eventually, he clears his throat. "As you may know, we are here to take on the mysterious thing, person or organisation, that has hounded us since the very beginning of our team. Their purpose is unclear and Ra's told us to ask Grodd, so we are going to. One by one, we will discover what the 'light' is, together." he warily informs. The slight droop in his expression hints that maybe the stress is reaching the elder of the group, however he always tries to carry the burden alone. I guess that's what leadership is all about.

"Who is Grodd?" Miss Martian asks the question playing on my mind.

"Gorilla Grodd is one of the Flash's enemies. He's a gorilla that developed intelligence and psychic abilities after being tested on by humans." Conner matter-of-factly clears up the matter, earning him puzzled looks from the gang. "What? I do my homework."

"Getting to Grodd will not be easy as he is on the middle of a heavily fortified island, full of his fellow primates. Caution and carefulness is key when approaching him." Kaldur ignores the previous discussion and carries on with his briefing.

"We do have a plan, right?" Kid Flash speaks out, hopeful.

"Yes, we do. And it will take patience and calm." _That rules out..._

"Guess Superboy and Kyle are sitting this one out." Artemis snorts. "Have fun, guys."

Robin tiredly shakes his head. "They aren't. Both of them are on shock and awe. Whilst we are sneaking up to Grodd, they are going to... subtly... distract the forces on the island."

Predictably, that would mean only one thing: blow anything up that is destructable, and sponge up the damage from the several gorilla's that want to rip us apart for intruding on their private paradise. I can't say that I blame them, though.

Awkwardly, I raise my hand like a school kid. "Does this mean that I will get hurt?"

Robin and Aqualad amusingly share an expression that can demonstrate the words that they are about to say.

"Yeah. I think so." _Oh man._

 **Later on...**

"We are the bait... again. No-one is going to help us... again. I'm going to wish I was in a youth support group and not a hero team... again." my mumblings and complaints grow as we delve deeper into the dense jungle, full of immensely tall trees that span upwards of two-hundred feet. And we are right in the center of the wooden mess.

"If you say something again, I'm going to run away and never come back." was Conner's threat in response. But, running away doesn't seem like a horrible idea; escaping all of the endless drama, avoiding the petulance of Superboy, and the weirdness of the whole team.

"Sure." I mutter under my breath, continuing the trudge through the jungle. Whenever we avoid trouble, it always finds us, but when we try and seek out something to fight, it makes us chase it. "Absolutely fantastic."

"Shut up." Conner curtly snaps.

Just when I was starting to release my grasp on trying, a twig snaps from behind us. Collectively, we swerve around to face the direction of the telltale sound.

"You heard that, right?" I ask the clone, simply clarifying the predicament.

"Yeah." Kon-El answers whilst attentively scanning the distance in the background.

"If those our not-so-welcoming owners of the island, we can't fight them here, the terrain gives them the advantage." I point out the unevenness and the various angles of attack they could possibly dart in from.

"What do you suggest?" he promptly asks.

Brain cells already working to come up with a definitive course of action, a smile shapes on my face as I choose one in particular. Turning round to the Kryptonian, I apologise. "Sorry in advance for this." with that, I firmly grab Conner around the stomach and kick off into the air. Even though I can't see Conner's face, I imagine it's one of shock or astonishment.

Mapping out the surrounding sea of trees, I notice a fairly noticeable clearing to the edge of the left side of the forest. Theoretically, it should confiscate their element of surprise and allow me and Superboy to fight on our prefered battleground- open and easy to maneuver around.

Zooming as quickly as I can to the new site, it gives me a brief moment to have a genuine think about the way me and Conner are being used. Sure, it makes sense to utilise your two most durable people as living tanks, yet it does appear to be slightly on the biased scale. Whereas we can take a load of punishment, Wally could be an equally effective ploy by speeding around them in circles. Do they trust us? Or don't they?

Touching down and willingly letting go of the clone, he stumbles slightly but soon regains his balance. However, the way he can barely walk without tipping to his right makes me believe the shock is still rooted in his system. _Poor guy. He's never flown like that before._

"Don't. Do. That. Again." he snarls without facing me.

"Remind me after we deal with the rabies-ridden monkeys."

From the treeline, streams of massive gorillas appear, clad in what resembles military uniform. When ordinary people think of monkeys they think of the animalistic tendencies of our supposed ancestors, but looking at these primates, they are co-ordinated and move in military precision. "We aren't facing gorillas, man; we're facing an army."

Shrugging his shoulders, Conner looks at me. "So."

Resisting the habitual urge to huff and sigh, I bit my lip in frustration. "So..." I draw out, hoping for him to see reason. "We can't charge in like soldiers in World War One, we have to play it smart and divide their forces."

"No, we don't."

Leaping with a battle cry towards the forces, he crashes into the main bulk of the gorillas, numbering around thirty. "Why do I even bother?" I sigh before I could curb my addiction. "Now, I have to get him out of the mess, therefore putting me in danger as well. The joys of babysitting a one year old with the temperament of a hormonal teenager."

Entering the fray myself by doing bombing runs over the gorillas, I catch sight of a particular hero jumping around like a rabid madman. _Does he even think about what he's doing? To me he's just going in headfirst to everything in his path._

Constructing a large broom, I literally sweep the floor with the opposition, which lasts until I'm knocked out of the air by a rocket. _Who showed gorillas how to use rockets? Animal rights activists would have a field day investigating this._

What ensues, I can only describe as giant gorillas piling onto me whilst I was on the ground. Their combined weight endeavours to crush my spine, even with the protective aura of the lantern ring, which would take extreme amounts of pressure.

Grunting with the effort, I feed on Conner's constant fury and explode outwards with energy, sending the oversized monkeys left, right, and center. The feeling afterwards is extraordinary, but I have little time to bask as something slams into my right temple. Seriously, these hits do hurt a lot. The armour doesn't negate the pain factor of each blow, so I get rocked every time someone superpowered decides to use my face as a stress releaser.

"Superboy?" I call out during short bursts of concentration. "Superboy!"

"What!?" I only just hear his response through the loud grunting of the soldiers.

"They had better make us cookies when we get back!"

 **Artemis' POV- Meanwhile**

Slithering into the 'palace' of the island- more like a science lab than anything to do with royalty, doubts start to root. This Grodd is apparently a telepath and can force people to do his bidding. Now that sounds awfully great, considering that only one of us (maybe Robin too?) can actually withstand a mental invasion. The rest of us will have to come up with a way to stop us from starting to fight each other to the death, all in the name of an enhanced gorilla. Sounds too unrealistic if you ask me. I might be a slight pessimist, but this is truly a situation that calls for actual common sense and logic. Besides, if we die, at least it ends at the hands of a friend.

"I can feel him." Miss Martian states out of the blue as soon as we step through the doorway.

Putting our minds together, this little strike force decided to not form a telepathic bonds as that might alert Grodd to our presence, and we want the advantage for as long as humanly possible. Although, this also makes it more difficult to communicate silently.

Sometimes, I wish that I had superpowers, so that I can be of more use to missions. Without arrows, I practically become obsolete. Yeah, I can dance around like Robin, but I'm definitely not as skilled as the boy wonder, hence the name I guess.

"Close formation." Aqualad commands us and we automatically tighten up to each other. "When approaching Grodd, M'gann will try her best to stop him from seizing our minds. Steel yourself from his assaults and victory will be ensured."

"Easier said than done." I whisper. "The thing is a huge gorilla that can access minds."

"Nonetheless, we must take Grodd down, if we stand a gambler's chance at getting that information." Kaldur reaffirms the plan.

Wally turns his head. "Aqua's right. We do this as a team."

Team. A word that I wouldn't use to describe our mottly band of heroes with a curfew. Instead, I would probably use 'family' as that serves the same purpose. No matter the odds stacked against us, we have always stuck together through hardship and pressure. At least, that's what Young Justice means to me- the family I never had.

Reaching the main section of the research facility, we stumble across a _massive_ gorilla typing away on a computer without looking up or making a sound, signs that it's concentrating and not paying attention.

Gazing over to Kaldur, we all await the signal to commence our attack, but none comes. Aqualad appears fixated with the figure of Grodd, his eyes glued to him.

Suddenly, he brings out his channelers and whips me across the room, landing violently on a broken-down wall. "I did try to tell him, didn't I? Glad the plan worked." I sarcastically wince at the effort of getting up from the wall.

Whilst Aqualad turns on the others and attempts to surprise them, I notice that Grodd is still stood doing his own carefree thing, not even bothering to sneak peeks at the confrontation. "Well... I guess it's up to the human to save the day." I huff and sprint at the beast, swiftly nocking an arrow, and aiming at Grodd with an electric trick arrow. "Eat this."

Taking in a steadying breath, I let loose the arrow, directed at the villain; still running towards the hulking primate. Unexpectedly, a blur of yellow later and Wally holds the arrow that was aimed for his obvious mind-controller.

The speedster jerks and slumps to the ground as the electricity flows through his body. "Good one." I sneer at the failure of Wally. Even when he turns 'bad' he finds a way to mess everything up.

Head snapping up, Grodd snarls at me. Perhaps he somehow sensed that Kid Flash has gone down.

"Stupid human." it remarks in a very snobbish accent. "Did you honestly believe that you could defeat me? I am Grodd!" with that, I'm once again thrown to the side, smacking my side on the hard floor. "Humans are so naïve and weak."

Shaking away the pain and picking myself up, I aim at Grodd again. "That's what makes us so great at everything."

"No. What made humans special was their intellect, as you are physically weak and puny compared to other beings. However, now gorillas are as smart as humans, and that means our time has come." Grodd shakes his head.

"You're wrong. What makes us special is..." I pause, discretely palming a drug arrow that causes vertigo. One that I especially made if Kyle steps out of line. "our resourcefulness."

Lobbing my bow at Grodd, I kickflip up and run at him. Leaping over the desk, I bring about the arrow like a syringe and embed it into the gorilla's arm.

Roaring at the sudden piercing of his skin, Grodd instinctively swipes at me and catches my cheek. A metallic taste fills my mouth as I dodge Grodd's next wild attacks. With the drug dose, he is beginning to act more like an animal than an intelligent being, grunting and making aggressive sounds.

Out of nowhere, light blue crashes into Grodd, who stutters and stumbles on impact. Aqualad enters my view, followed closely by the rest of Young Justice, excluding Conner and Kyle. "You're reign is over. Without concentration, you can't bend our minds." Aqualad says.

"It will never be over, stupid humans. I am Grodd!" he shoots back.

"Tell us about the light! Why is it targeting us!?" Robin takes a brazen stab at intimidation, although I daresay that he's nowhere near as scary as Batman. Probably because the bat is a full-grown, muscular man, and Rob is... small.

"We are going to show you... soon enough." Grodd flings himself out of the window behind him.

"Scary... and very ominous." Kyle shows up from the back, sporting an extremely bruised face. "Owww!."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Thanks for reading guys, and I'll see you next wednesday.**


	19. Bialyan Business

**A/N**

 **Hello everyone and welcome back to the 19th chapter of this book. Wow!**

 **We have been growing in views for a while now and we have nearly hit 4,800! Yeah!**

 **I'm finally doing a Conner POV, guys!**

 **Thanks to all new viewers, followers, favouritors!**

 **Reviews**

 **MoustachedCat: Your words are too kind, dearest friend. As for length, it's the same as my other chapters, around 3,000. Season 2 and all of my series after I finish this, will be 7,000 words and I will be aiming to release one chapter a week.**

 **patattack: Thanks for the review, man. I'm grateful to see you have stuck by me.**

 **Elvisfonz23: Awesome! You are just cool!**

* * *

 **Chapter 19: Bialyan Business...**

 **October 13th, 8:00PM- Bialya**

 **Kyle's POV**

Due to Robins acute smartness, we managed to assume that Queen Bee also knows about the 'light'. Basing this off the fact that sphere was being experimented on in Bialya, we sussed out that it would more than likely be somewhat connected to our shadowy stalkers. Again, this is pure speculation and we shouldn't really be risking our lives over an educated hunch from a teenager that wears a brightly coloured suit, and fights crime alongside a man (I'm assuming it's a man) dressed as a bat.

Nevertheless, we are currently in the rogue nation of Bialya, again. And, we are trying to interrogate a heavily guarded supervillain... again. _This is getting really repetitive all of a sudden. Can't we go one mission without attempting to be stealthy. Leave that jazz to the professionals and not us._

" _Uh... we can hear you, Kyle._ " the voice of Kid Flash enters my mind, reminding me to keep a lid on my thoughts for the time being.

" _Thanks for the reminder that you people are constantly inside my head. I could really do without these interruptions, you know?_ " I sarcastically retort. " _Anyways, any movement on the other side?_ _I've seen zero, so far._ "

" _The guards are on rotational shifts and by my estimates, they should be swapping in a minute or two. We should use the brief lapse to enter, but it will be a tight fit._ " Robin answers.

" _Speaking of tight fit, how do you even get into that costume of yours?_ " the telltale sassiness indicates- along with the voice- that Artemis made that remark.

I come up with the defense of the century. " _You can't say anything about other people's clothes, Artemis. I'm surprised the fashion police haven't arrested you for rocking that awful suit. It looks like Robin Hood had enough of medieval times and went for the 80's look._ "

" _If you dare say something like that to me, I'll shove those rings up your a-_ "

" _Guys! Stop it!_ " Robin plays the role of the goodie boy to perfection by halting Superboy's threat before it reaches its obviously ugly climax. " _This mission will be hard enough without the fighting, so quit acting like spoilt kids and be the heroes you say you are._ "

Alas, the boy wonder does have a point. Teamwork is only a great strategy if all members of the team co-operates and functions to the max efficiency, but it's only friendly banter to calm our raging nerves, so I don't see the actual problem. I guess that Robin is nervous about the whole escapade we are currently on.

" _Robin is right. We cannot afford to lose our focus upon this mission._ " Kaldur reinforces Robin's interruption.

" _I'm going to ignore what Rob said, but Kaldur's on the right track._ " I tease the boy wonder. " _We all know that Kaldur is the better leader._ "

" _Burn._ " Wally makes the sizzling sound that usually accompanies those words. " _Wait... we're going off course again._ "

" _Movement._ " M'gann informs as I'm presuming that she was the only one actually scoping out the place for weaknesses. " _I think the guards are rotating. Should we go, guys?_ " the question was answered when Robin darts up and takes off towards the palace. The very same palace that I met Ra's for the first time in.

Firing his grappling hook at the highest ledge he reels himself in, his body rigid and comparable to a fish that's just been caught on a hook.

Following his suit, all of us scale the side- me and Miss M flying, with Artemis helping Kid Flash up via an arrow, and Conner leaping up in a single bound. He clears the wall without a need to hold onto the wall and do his super-jump again. Pretty impressive, actually. For a clone that doesn't even have access to his full range of powers.

" _Watch out! Bogie coming from the left!_ " I call out and promptly see said threat collapsing to the ground an arrow in his arm. " _That was quick._ "

Touching down on the ramparts alongside Miss Martian, we swiftly rejoin the others in their mid-mission huddle. By that, I mean them vigorously whispering to each other over who does what role in the mish. However, I don't usually take part as I pride myself on being above such tedious discussions. "What are they doing?" M'gann asks, seemingly both curious and aware enough that she shouldn't tangle with that mess.

"You know- telling each other that they don't want to do all the hard things. Which... I have no doubt will be left to me." was my huff.

"Kyle, you go on overwatch." Aqualad turns around and commands.

"Told ya so." I mutter to M'gann. They always neglect to say that overwatch is spectating everyone else doing all the tough work, whilst you hover above the action and lookout for potential troubles. Basically, the task is to watch. "Stay safe."

Zooming into the air above the palace, I halt at a decent altitude and gently hover above the team. Now... I wait until they realise they need my help; they always end up needing my help. Either because they need a guy to be an equivalent of a meat shield, or to fly them out of there. Only yesterday, I had to carry them across Mexico because M'gann needed to recuperate. So, I constructed a Chinook and towed the bio-ship to Bialya. It nearly ran my rings out of charge, and that means a lot of usage.

" _Right side, in the courtyard. If you enter the palace through the windows, the guard shouldn't be able to see you._ "

 **Superboy's POV**

Since when do 'heroes' ever break in through windows? Superman would never dream of doing such a thing. The mere thought of my biological father sends my blood boiling in a fiery rage. _Superman_ doesn't even try to help me, and yet he's so _morally right_. I'm going to prove that you don't need his powers to be the greatest protector of the world. I'm going to prove that he's wrong about me. I'm going to prove that I'm not the abomination that both Kal and Kara believe I am. And, it starts now.

Forcing my building fury down, I clamber in through the window and await the others to enter as well. M'gann was the most awkward to fit in as she clearly isn't used to squashing herself without changing shape.

Although she isn't as dependant as Superman, she still can't cope without her powers. They both under-appreciate the fact that they have powers that the rest of us- including me- could ever imagine. Perhaps one day I will get my full potential, but until then I must learn how to survive without it.

" _Where will Queen Bee... be?_ " Wally stumbles over the awkward tongue-twister. " _And do we have a plan to deal with her very villainous ability to seduce men. Or... just me._ his eyes dart to me, Robin, and Kaldur. " _They don't seem like the easily seduced type._ "

" _I don't need to be there to know that you are looking at the three stoics._ " Kyle interrupts. Am I ever free from his incessant nagging?

" _Shut up._ " I growl.

" _What are you going to do? Fly to me?_ " the obviously mocking tone of his voice is nearly enough to spiral me into a primal frenzy state.

" _That's enough, Kyle!_ " Kaldur says. " _How many times must you be told to get along? We are on a mission._ "

" _Fine._ "

" _Without further interruptions, I suggest that you continue to watch our backs before are taken by surprise and killed._ " Aqualad closes out the conversation/verbal sparring match, much to my annoyance as I had plenty more malicious things to say to him.

" _To answer KF's question, I have no idea. I guess that you should keep your mind focused on avoiding her influence. Think of your family or something- a way to distract your mind without becoming sloppy in a fight._ " Robin answer as we stealthily walk across the vast hallways in search of our target.

Winding walls and the smooth surfaces gives me the distinct impression that this was designed to be distracting to anyone that enters. It's as if the walls themselves are peering at you, watching and examining our every breath, step, and word. Even to me, the though is deeply frightening and creepy. A feeling that is often very rare for me to experience in any given situation, as I was theoretically born to be a courageous hero.

" _Anyone getting the feeling that we are strolling into a trap?_ "Artemis asks.

Robin agreeably nods his head. " _Yeah... something is off here... Kyle, keep a lookout. Report back if you see anything that could be counted as suspicious, in any way._ "

" _Sure thing._ " was Kyle's predictable response. " _I'll give you a mental holler if I notice anything too out of the ordinary. Good luck._ "

" _Conner, you should take point._ " Robin then shifts to the side to allow me to wearily pass through. " _Just in case we get ambushed, we need you at the front._ "

By that, he wants me to take the punishment if we get surprised. In Kyle's specific words, he wants me to be a 'living tank' and soak up the enemies like a sponge, which is totally understandable, but borderline repetitive. Sooner or later, the bad guys are going to catch on and that would be horrible for the less durable members of the youth squad.

" _Just make sure to stay behind me._ " I march forwards with confidence and an eagerness that wouldn't be expected to find in most heroic figures in today's world. " _Is this the door?_ _"_ we apprehensively approach a large, wooden door, altogether unsure of what could be waiting for us on the other side. " _It smells like a trap, alright- this was far too easy. Shouldn't there be guards and stuff?_ "

" _Yeah, isn't this supposed to be a 'royal' palace?_ " Artemis says, doing the finger gestures when she mentioned Queen Bee's alleged monarchy.

" _Come on guys, maybe luck is finally on our side?_ " Wally shrugs his shoulders, practically pleading that he is proven correct by what resides beyond the intimidating entrance.

Gently, M'gann places her hand on the door and closes her eyes. " _I'm not sensing any thoughts from the other side._ " she withdraws her hand and reveals to the group.

" _It's not like they are going to pop their heads through the door and scream 'hello from the other side', is it? They obviously know that we have a telepath, or Queen Bee has mindcontrolled people using her mumbo-jumbo. Either way, there are people behind the door and we can't just charge in._ " Artemis mentally sighs.

" _Artemis has a point._ " Kaldur nods. " _They would not reveal themselves so easily, despite them being sentients who constantly think._ "

" _Kyle, what do you think?_ "Miss M asks.

" _Go in and find out, I guess. I can back you up if you want._ " comes the reply typical of our lantern. " _Nothing is going on in my front._ "

" _Try and find a way around._ " Robin commands.

Finally, the time to open the door and prevent another five minutes of my life wasted because they are too scared to act. So, I grip the frame tightly and rip the whole thing off with a roar. Ruthless aggression is how I see things through, and when I get started nothing will be able to halt my warpath, not even Superman can do that. In my book, there is no such notion as giving in. Only the strongest can survive against all odds, and I _am_ the strongest hero to walk the Earth. Not in terms of raw power, but resolve and the willingness to go the distance to help my friends.

Welcoming us into the penultimate room is presumably the Queen Bee- a strikingly unusual villain, compared to the others- surrounded by soldiers- dressed in black with yellow striped running down their outfits- armed with standard assault rifles. Altogether, a not-so-intimidating view in my opinion; nothing we haven't dealt with before.

And nothing we wont easily deal with again.

"Tell me: What are the brats of the Justice League doing in Bialya... for the third time." the slender seductress saunters towards us, hips swaying lightly. "I pride myself on being a generally hospitable ruler, yet I do require ample preparation, and such a sudden arrival will not suffice." she slows down and remains a respectable distance away from us, no doubt just as wary as we are.

"For you, actually. Stop being a diva and answer some questions." Artemis snaps.

"Questions? How intriguing." she starts annoyingly pacing in front of us, almost in a teasing and provoking manner.

"First off: What does the 'light' want with us!? It's not as if we did something to them, and now they want revenge. " Artemis demands from Queen Bee. Not a great idea, considering we have no idea what tricks she could be hiding under her sleeves, and her theatrics.

"My dear, all the light wants is for you meddling children to die. Imagine... you are the future of the hero community and if you crush you... there will be no future where the heroes prevail." Queen Bee divulges, matter-of-factly.

"No surprise there." I mutter under my breath, until I decide to express my anger through words. "No surprise there!" making my friends startle slightly. "Everything that happens to us is to get to _them!_ We will never be taken seriously as long as we are under their shadow! Look at you, Robin- one of the greatest heroes I've met and you're only a teenager, and yet you need to understand... you will always be in _his_ shadow. Until the day you die." Robin's face scrunches as though he smelled something nasty. "But no... more."

Turning around to face Queen Bee, I see the fear in her eyes. "I'm not Superman or Supergirl, and I may never be. Only one thing about me is unique. " say, crouching minutely in readiness. "That... I AM _SUPERBOY!_ "

Time seems to slow down as I thunder forward with the speed of a charging bull. Electricity flickers in the corner of my eyes and Wally sprints in, taking out one of the rear guards. Instead of hitting Bee, I feel like I am suspended in the air for an eternity, reaching for my prey. Though it's my mind probably playing tricks on me, every bone in my body screams that it's right. This particular moment will be remembered forever, even if only by me.

It's the moment that I cast down the shackles of pride and jealousy that has plagued me since I first broke out of Cadmus. And I know what the rest of my life is destined to do.

One way or another, I will become the greatest superhero the world has ever witnessed.

Speeding up again, my fist unexpectedly slams against the ground, severely cracking the marble floor. Looking up, Queen Bee is nowhere to be found, so I take out my frustration on an unsuspecting soldier about to take a shot at Artemis.

Roughly, I grab on to the man's belt and swing him around in the air and release after the third spin, viciously throwing him into a solid wall with a smack. The soldier barely moves afterwards, occassionaly twitching or groaning in pain. _I may have gone overboard._

With the rest of the royal guards being cleared up, it leaves the problem of Queen Bee escaping out of thin air. Somehow, we need to track her down and interrogate her for the information we need on the light. We should probably start searching...

"Let me go!"

The yell catches my attention and the voice was beginning to grow louder by the second. "How dare you! Release me at once! If I ever get out of here, I will k-"

"Quit whining, jeez! I thought that Conner cries a lot about his life." the familiar tone of Kyle enters the fray, followed closely by him and Queen Bee, with the latter enclosed within a golden sphere. Within, she hits the sided with her bare fists, desperate to escape. "Hey guys." Kyle addresses Young Justice with a triumphant smile. "I caught this one scrambling into the courtyard, and thought it would be best to contain her. Pretty lucky, actually. I almost missed her coming out after I gave up searching for a back entrance."

"There's only one way you are getting out of that bubble." Artemis sneers as you would to an imprisoned animal. "Tell us about the light."

Queen Bee's head droops. "I will... tell you everything, if you let me go."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **There is another chapter wrapped up.**

 **Many of you will be going "Hey! this is getting really repetitive!" and I say that it's all for a reason. Stick with me and you will find out why, my good people.**


	20. Brain Freeze

**A/N**

 **Hello, and welcome once again friends. I hope that you have enjoyed the series so far, and we still have quite a bit left to go.**

 **5,000 views! Whooooppp!**

 **Somewhere in here is a reference to an old animated show, so brownie points to whoever finds it.**

 **Reviews**

 **Elvisfonz23: Thanks, man. By this point, I have run out of compliments for you.**

 **patattack: I know it was a little boring, but that was actually the whole point- expressing SB's and Kyle's boredness of it all. I wanted the readers to experience that same feeling.**

 **MoustachedCat: Awesome! I always knew we could be friends...**

* * *

 ** Chapter 20: Brain Freeze...**

 **October 14th, 12:00AM- Middle of nowhere**

 **Kyle's POV**

Well... this 'ingenius' plan of Robin's ended up spectacularly... not. Being caught within a few mere seconds of landing and being thrown into a cell with laser bars (hot enough to send us both scampering back) isn't exactly my definition of perfectly accomplished. Or, that's just the fact I'm stuck in a cell with Conner. Of all the people on the team.

Actually, it did work to a small margin, due the fact that we wanted to infiltrate this base and well, we are inside of it. Albeit, trapped, bound, and generally feeling miserable about our complete and utter failure. Besides that, we did reach our first our first object with minimal effort, as we were all knocked unconsciouss by a... walking brain encased in a piece of glass? Maybe, it wasn't as heroic of a defeat as it first appeared.

"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with S."

"Shut up. "

The only thing that is keeping me relatively sane at this point is the little game we are playing. Helping to take my mind off of our current and severely real predicament, it makes for an excellent relaxer and distracter. If only Conner would join in on the fun.

"We need to do something or this will take a lot longer than it needs to be." I sigh. "Do you want to start with guessing or should I? Either way, I won't mind as long as we are having some degree of fun."

"If you find that fun, you are an idiot- It's boring." Conner says.

"Only boring people become bored, my friend." I chuckle at the expense of the clone. "Guess you weren't born with a sense of humour."

Silence prevails and my joyful mood soon turns sour at the lack of anything remotely entertaining to do, apart from endlessly staring at the floor like a lunatic. _Why does life always have to find ways to screw me over?_ I complain in my thoughts. _Next, I'll become the leader of the team and then they will say it was a genuine mistake._

Although, there are some noticable upsides to the unexpected situation, and not just in terms of the mission, but in general. One: I get to spend some well-earned quality time with my best pal Conner- the grumpy, tempremental teenage clone. And, we don't have to listen to Aqualad or Robin's constant orders and perfect morality speeches. We know you both are the most moral people in the world, so you don't have to rub it in our faces through your 'hero' talks.

"Conner?"

My cell-buddy doesn't respond and plain ignores me, facing the other side.

"Kon-Elllll?"

"What?" was his eventual quiet response. "Don't tell me that you're going to start playing that game again."

"No. I just wanted to know if you can help me imagine a construct that can get us out of here. I'm all out of ideas, at the moment." I suggest, messing around with my rings in the process. Thankfully, whoever dragged us into here left them on, or goodnight to me.

"How about you concentrate! And figure it out!" Superboy rudely yells at me, considering that I technically wear the one thing that could possibly help us escape. It's not like he can use brute force to break out as the lasers can't be broken. "You're useless." he ends with a huff, his head aimed at his knees.

"Hey! It's not like I can just... phase... through... it." Conner's head perks up with realisation. "Are you kidding me!? We've been stuck here for ages, and I forgot that I can simply walk through! Sometimes, I wonder if I am actually awake most of the time."

"Just shut up and do it!" Conner redirects me to the vital and potentially life-saving task at hand.

 _Okay Kyle, you can do this. Just be angry, okay._ Focusing on all the things that make me truly furious- being shunned from the corp, Artemis' daily sarcasm, and the fact we are still treated like child by the league- I step up to the laser fence. _They think you're pathetic and weak, so prove the doubters wrong,_ I motivate myself.

"Just do it!" Superboy snaps from behind.

"Okay, just calm down, Shia." was my immediate response to the nagging. "I have to channel my rage and use it. Not something easily done when I've got you hounding me every few seconds. If you want to get out of this cell, I need full concentration. So... shush."

Prepping my heart for the awaiting influx, I release my anger into the ring, illuminating the room in a bright crimson. Thankfully, I had enough due to stealing no small amount of Conner's inner anger, which I can sense every waking moment of the day.

Boldly, I stride through the boiling beams, passing through with an odd tingling sensation running down my spine. Once upon the other side, I turn back to my comrade. "Ah, victory at last. Bet you Kryptonians can't do that." I taunt him.

"Are you going to let me out, or what?" he glares at me from across the fence. "We don't have all day. We have to help the others." he carries on as though that would instantly change my mind. Maybe, I should leave the grinch to his mood swings. But, that would be mean.

"Wait a sec."

 **Artemis' POV**

Out of all the people that I could have been imprisoned with- including Kyle- I ended up with the silent and mildly boring personality of Aqualad/Kaldur. With almost three attempts to make him say something to entertain us, he has kept his mouth tightly shut. _What I would give to be with either Kyle or Wally,_ I want to scream to the world in hope that God would answer my prayers.

Sure, they would annoy me, however it's better than brooding with the oldest member of the group like a vampire. Does he ever relax and try to be more... sociable? Judging by the lack of even a few words, he's content with the situation.

"Is something on your mind, Artemis?"

His sudden question brings me both joy and surpise. Although, I can't tell whether it was purely rhetorical or one that desires and answer from me.

"One tiny, miniscule thing." I sarcastically answer with a fake smile. "How are we getting out of here!?"

"Lower your voice, Artemis. They may think that we are escaping." Kaldur commands as though it would damage our situation. "Before you ask 'aren't we escaping?'I would like to say that we won't be, for now. The others will be rescuing us." he monotonously continues, not a shred of concern in his voice.

"How can you be so sure?" I ask, changing my position to become more comfortable- lying on one side, arm supporting my head, and streched out at full length.

"I have faith. Perhaps... you should also trust your teammates." was Kaldur's slightly patronising response.

I laugh. "By that, you also mean putting my faith in the person known as Kyle. Yeah, I think that i'll pass on that one. It would be easier to place a bet on Batman bursting into song to impress Wonder Woman."

"You do not give him a lot of compliments, but I know that you trust him. In some ways, we all do in our own minds." Aqualad stares into my eyes, piercing into my soul. "Superboy defends him as equally as the rest of us, M'gann is carefree around him, Robin trusts him, Wally confides in him, I am willing to lay down my life for him, but you... you pretend to not care. It's your way of closing off your emotions, much like Batman does."

Okay... this is getting way too deep for me. _When I want him to talk, he doesn't. But when I give up, he sprouts all this spiritual/observation nonsense._

"Right... that was a terrific talk and all, but let's end it there before things get too Twilight." I say, once again with a note of sarcasm and sassiness. "I might start uncontrollably crying due to the immense feels."

"You can avoid me for now. Outrunning yourself is a lot more difficult and is always a losing battle, Artemis." Kaldur quietly advises. "Let us hope that you are wrong about Kyle, but I already know the outcome. He will come through for all of us."

Tiredly, I bury my head in my knees. " Well... tell me when we get updated about that, will you?"

 **Wally's POV**

All matters assessed... we are utterly doomed to die in this laser-guarded-thingy-cage, or that's what my brain keeps on reminding me every few minutes as though I'd forgotten. The only glint of hope we have lies in our genius- Robin. And, he's trying his best to get our sorry behinds out of the cell. Plus, M'gann is humming to herself in what I can only describe as cheery optimism. _At least someone is doing my job for me._

"I'm nearly there, guys. I just have to figure out a way to rewire the lasers into a low temperature setting." Robin reveals, sweat dripping down his forehead as he bites down on his lip in concentration.

"Dude, the panel is on the other side." I point out, ending whatever was concocting in Robin's mind. "I've told you, we are d.o.o.m.e.d. Doomed. There is no possible way that we can safely pass through the lasers without me or M'gann finding a way to phase. Since that's highly unlikely, how about we relax for a while?"

"Lighten up, KF. This can't be how our adventure ends. We haven't saved the world, yet." Robin chuckles. "Besides, think of all the food of all the delicious food that you would be leaving behind. Giving up on this is giving up on the brownies; Kid Flash wouldn't do such a thing."

"Yeah, but Kid Flash can't get out of the death trap, so the brownies will have to be eaten. Dear God, let Shazam eat it. He deserves the smooth and heartwarming chocolate." I theatrically raise my hands up to the bland ceiling.

"See, KF, optimism is key." he triumphantly smirks.

The bitter truth is that he's right in more ways than possible. Think of all the expressions that relate to how being happy with life coincides with great karma: 'what goes around, comes around' and 'always look on the bright side of life'. More the latter than the former, I suppose.

"So... any suggestions on how to reach the panel? I'm all ears." Robin asks.

"I could always try and do it telekinetically, but I would have to know which wires to remove or change. It would be hard, though." Miss Martian suggests. "Especially since it would require a lot of precision control, which Uncle J'onn is better at."

"That's a great idea! Why didn't I think of that!?" Robin darts up from his seated position and approaches the fence.

"Maybe because you were definitely not stressing and was thinking properly." I sarcastically wink with a smile. "Let's get out of here."

The boy wonder nods. "agreed."

"Guys, I still need to do the thing and I don't know if I'm ready." M'gann says.

"Well," I reply. "Before, Robin said that optimism is key and he's right; focus on the task at hand and believe in yourself. Just like we _believe_ in you. You can do this, Miss M."

At my words, her face steels in determination. "You're right. I'm going to get us out of here." she announces, whilst gracefully floating towards the bright red fence of utter annihilation. Then, she halts directly before accidentally hitting the lasers and closes her eyes, her face scrunching in concentration.

"Okay, Miss M." the birdman intakes a deep breath. "Lift the lid, first." he instructs, to which she immediately obeys and the lid comes flying off. "Good. There are a couple of wires in there that we will need to cut out and a few that we need to swap."

"You can tell, how? You've just looked at the thing." I scoff.

Robin shoots a warning glance behind his back before turning again and flicking his eyes over the panel. "The blue wire on the top left needs to be cut, but make sure that you don't snip the yellow one, as well. That would be... disastrous." and hey presto, she effortlessly manages to do exactly as Rob commanded. "Last thing: You see that red one? You're going to swap it with the green, but it has to be really fast or we could all go kaboom. So... no pressure."

"Oh... okay... I'll try." M'gann chokes under the not-so-helpful pressure.

"We don't need you to try... we need you to succeed." Rob once again shovels the responsibility on our young Martian.

"Rob. Don't." I shake my head.

"What?" he innocently shrugs his shoulders. "Batman always does this to me."

"That's because Batman is a certified psycopath, and you are his slave." at a perfect timing, Kyle Rayner casually saunters until he is adjecent to the wire box. "No offense, of course. Strictly speaking, it's not your fault."

"Just get us out of here." Robin sighs.

"Okayyy..." Kyle mumbles as his hand flickers over a set of buttons next to the box. "Now, which one... are you?" he whispers, apparently to no-one in particular amongst our group. "Since we were this... they must be th- Voila!" he exclaims and the fence momentarily shimmers and then shuts off. "The paragon of awesomeness does it again!"

Stepping out of the once-cage, I pat him on the back. "Thanks, man; we owe you a cake when we get back."

Kyle smiles. "Don't sweat it." he hits me back. "Let's get the shebang out of here, shall we? Conner is already dealing with the others, and we have a brain to interrogate."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **This was a little shorter than the others, but don't judge.**


	21. By The Power Of Kabam!

**A/N**

 **Welcome back! Sorry this took so long, but I have been thinking a lot about my future. With the current state of the world, I'm considering joining the army. Just a thought, but it's there. As for now, I haven't made my decision and will continue making these. (I'm also planning to write my own book)**

 **5,500 views! 48 reviews! 29 followers! And 20 favouritors!**

 **Reviews**

 **MoustachedCat: You're welcome,friend. I can't wait for the sequel as well!**

 **patattack: -_-**

 **akashadowcat: Awesome name! You are correct! I need to stop putting exclamation marks after everything I do!**

 **Elvisfonz23: I have actually memorised your name because you review so much! Wow! Thanks, mate!**

 **FlyingWolves: My parents did too. Thanks for the compliment and I hope you enjoy this too.(omg, too twic- no, three times)**

* * *

 **Chapter 21: By The Power Of Kabam!**

 **Conner Kent's POV- Fifteen minutes prior**

 _That's right, Conner, run to save your friends as always. It's not like they would thank you or it was Superman rescuing them, they wouldn't hesitate to say 'thanks, Superman' or 'you're my hero!'_ the loud smacking of my boots against the floor provides a soothing melody to think amongst. _I'm just a clone that they would discard to the side._

But, a deeper section of my brain tells me otherwise. Whereas the League would throw me to the wolves without a second thought, I know that the others wouldn't do such a thing. All of us have to come too far to abandon the only real friends we have. Including the more amiable members of the group- Wally, Kyle, and Artemis. Recently, Kyle has only been friendly on days he choses to be, other times he pretends to be a raving idiot.

The constant patter of the tough shoes on the solid, spectacularly clean, and abyss black floor sounds out along the seemingly endless corridor. _When will this thing end? It's taken me longer than it should be. I have superpowers; this should be quicker._ I complain at the sheer vastness of the oddly familiar walls. Everything about them remind me of the place that I was artificially created.

Cadmus- a top facility that aimed to clone the Superman and supplant him. The resemblant surfaces, which are a shiny reflection of the person walking in it's shade. The dull, dry colours that leak no emotion, happiness or otherwise. The feeling that you are constantly being watched and recorded, scanned for particular behaviours. "Come on, your friends need you!"

Refocusing on the tiring task at hand, I scan the looming horizon with my acute vision, searching for any signs of Robin, Kid Flash, and M'gann.

Miss Martian. Up until a short while ago, I never expected to encounter what others usually run into eventually. Love. Maybe it's not to that height as of yet, but I can't deny that my heart wrenches whenever I see her. Normally, I would force these thoughts away in favour of standing against the tide of unwanted emotions. However, something tells me that our small adventure won't end perfectly.

When the moment for sacrifice comes around, I will gladly give my life to preserve theirs. One last act of defiance for the clone that went rogue. Not for Superman; not for Supergirl, but for the team that became my family.

And, I'll be damned forever if I let anyone harm them. Nobody touches my friends and gets away with it unscathed.

 _Now... where are you, guys? They have to be somewhere close, because it would be easier to put up a guard rotation._ I muse whilst continuing on with the eternal journey. _Or... they aren't where someone would normally find them. Think, Conner, think._

If I was a robotic brain with full consciousness and holding a team of superpowered heroes, what would I do to prevent an escape attempt from taking them all? Although, something isn't quite right about this hallway. So... maybe I shouldn't go where it wants me to go. "This is going to be fun."

Slamming into the wall to my right with my Kryptonian shoulder first, the structures immediately caves through and I smash a hole to the other side, leaving a gaping gap in my powerful wake. _Guess that's one way of making an entrance._

Despite the relatively dire situation the others find themselves in, there is a slight tingle of excitement creeping up my spine. Always, I have wanted to know how it feels to have people rely on you to save the day; wanted to know what it's really like to be the Superman, and it's actually more thrilling than I ever expected. Their prayers are directed at me, hoping that I swoop in and rescue them, with the 'S' emblazoned on my chest.

 _It doesn't take away the fact that you aren't him, does it? I can't even fly. Even with people looking to me for help, I will never live up to the legacy that he has laid down._ I sigh and trudge over the displaced pieces of the metalic-esque material.

Directly in front of my eyes is a plain, but suspicious looking door, as though waiting for me to open it. Generally, I have been on too many missions to know that nothing is ever as elementary as it first appears, especially when inside a place with laser fenced cages.

Apprehensively, I step towards the door, using my infrared vision to survey past the door and only noticing the same blue colour. Either nothing is beyond the ominous door or it has some lining that negates my sight. Both of which reveal nothing beneficial to the current drama.

 _Wait... out of all the walls that I ran past, I happened to smash through the right one?._ The coincidence would have Wally in a frenzy, screaming that there's no such thing as magic. Yet, the indications are that it's there- unexplainable occurrences, no rational explanations, and a weird conclusion.

"Why is everything so confusing all the time!?" I furiously huff. "Can't we go one mission where we just fight things!?"

Looking at the door with newfound anger and boredom, I decide the only course of action. Which just so happens to be the most entertaining way.

Brazenly, and with a deafening roar, I charge the door with my fist ready to punch an entrance through the door. As I approach it, it shimmers slightly and disappears, leaving behind a solid wall similar to the one that I previously entered through.

Before I could halt my charge, I collide with the wall and blast a hole straight through it. Surprisingly, there is the exact door from before, waiting to be opened and not broken through.

 _I knew it was magic!_ I chastise myself for foolishly going with my reckless instincts, which Black Canary would have my head for. _But... how can I open the damn door, then? I've got to find a way through, which doesn't involve being a rash skullhead. But, how?_

There are rare times that I do shock myself with my inner intellegence- supposedly inherited from Lex Luthor, my other father- and eventually solve the puzzle before me, usually without much help from other people. However, this is different as it isn't logical or realistic. I have to know what the door wants.

Still, a hard complication considering that I don't know what I want the majority of the time- be Superman here, and be my own hero the other times. So, how can I make a magical door let me enter? Is it even magical, or am I going insane?

"Just open!" I yell at the door. "For once, will something actually listen to me!?"

Unexpectedly, the door slides open and reveals the other incarcerated members of the team. All of their heads swiftly jump up at the noise of the door opening and Wally laughs in relief.

"What took you so long?" Robin asks as I stride through the entryway with my body tensed.

"Uhh... nothing." I quickly answer, not wanting them to find out that I was impeded by a door. "I had to find you first." I force (it's so natural it isn't that forced) a scowl and walk over to the panel at the side of the cages. "That door was enchanted or something." I gradually shut off the lasers and inform them. It was bad of me to try to hide something so small to the team.

"First off: there is nothing like that. And two: there's a little thing called an automated door. You press the button and it opens by itself." Wally shakes his head whilst stretching his way out of the cell. "Magic isn't possible."

"It is." M'gann furrows her brow.

"I know it is, sugarcake." he cheesily smiles back.

"Weird..." I mutter to myself as we head off to rejoin the escapees.

 **Meanwhile**

"Did you do as I asked?"

Bluntness aside, my question was as cordial as our meetings tended to go. Especially since my 'friend'- more of an... accosiate- is to put in better terms, a lunatic to say the least. Most of the other contacts I have worked with has paled in comparison to this person.

"Don't be so anxious. I got it." the shrill and cold voice cackles back. "Your little experiment has encountered his first hiccup. Such a shame really, he failed." he carries on, much to my annoyance. However, I keep it carefully concealed as always.

"That will be all, _Klarian_." I sternly stamp down my authority, heavily needed when conversing with an unpredictably wild character such as the conveniently named 'Lord of Chaos'. "And remembers always, come forward into the light."

"Sure." was his snorting response before he portals his way out of my building.

Holding the sides of my immensely expensive leather chair, my eyes keenly watch the outside sky via the window. Many a time, I have almost expected Superman to tear his way through that particular window and throttle me for saving mankind from his power. But... sadly, he never gave me the satisfaction.

Superboy on the other hand, is shaping up to a nice distraction for the 'Man of Steel'. Sure, Klarian thought that he failed the test, but I know that he actually succeeded.

Having no doubt that he would break out of the Brain's cells, I had him put a spell on the door. Only when he adored Superman to the point of loyalty would the door open, and since he failed to open it- as we watched from the hidden cameras- I had Klarian remove the spell and open the door.

The Lord of Chaos believed he failed my test because I want him to replace Superman as I originally intended, but I have a plan B in store for my budding son. Of course, I knew that he would be smart enough to reach the door. He is my biological son, after all.

The real reason I want him to be independent is a simple: that it will be easier to sway his confused mind, without the need of further modifications. Although, he will undoubtedly resist my initial attempts to bring him into the light, the lure of everything he has ever wanted will be enough. Ambition is one of my most favoured traits as it got me to where I am. With small pressure, he will grow into what this earth needs.

Or what I need, in the same regard. Humanity needs a strong hand to guide it along, and LexCorp will be that hand, In my leadership or my son's.

"Mr Luther?" my robotic assistant, who also happens to double as a bodyguard at moments, calls for me.

Touching the comm button located on my desk, I respond with "Yes,".

"Someone is waiting for you on the line. It appears to be urgent." she informs me as she is supposed to.

Patching the call through to my desk speaker- I have no need to make calls private due to the soundproofing- and prepare to talk with the kindness and politeness of the Lex Luther the world sees. However, I am taken aback by the identity of the caller.

"Hello, Lex." the unmistakable tone of the playboy Bruce Wayne cordially greets me. _Interesting..._ I muse.

"It's been so long since we last spoke, Mr Wayne. How are things in Gotham?" I return the greeting in 'kind'. Although I inwardly despise the man for his infamous partying and attitude, there always comes a need for subtlety.

"Frantic," was his one word response. "how about you, Lex? How are things going in Metropolis?"

"Busy." was my inappropriately curt reply, practically telling him to get to whatever he called me for. "Is there something in particular that you want to talk about, Bruce?" I direct the conversation to the reason why he is talking to me after so long of a time.

"You know, you should relax more. It helps with the stress of work." Bruce carries on with the small talk. _Get on with it, fool! I don't have time for this!_ is what I wanted to scream down the line. But, I soon came to a conclusion and suddenly held a lot more respect for the CEO of WayneTech, and... caution. _He's pushing my buttons. Okay... I'll play his little game._

"Although it would be a _pleasure_ to stay here and talk, I have a meeting in one hour. So, what do you need?" I ask, revealing no emotion or intention.

"It has to do with the fundraiser you are throwing on friday." my rival accepts the directions without a second thought. "I wanted to know if I could invite someone along."

"Now you have me intrigued, Bruce. Who?" my fingers impatiently tap the mahogany desk rapidly.

"An old friend of mine. He's from Coast City." Bruce answers.

"I don't know what is more surprising- the fact you have a friend or that you know a city other than Gotham." I tease him in a friendly manner, not reflecting my inner annoyance.

"Very funny, Lex." the caller chuckles. "That's all; happy meeting." and the line goes dead.

"Imbecele."

* * *

 **Gotham**

"How did the call go, Master Bruce?" Alfred asks once I place the phone down on the tabletop.

"He did a good job of hiding his frustration, but it was there. As for my backup, it's been secured." I respond to my elderly caretaker. "Now, I have to get him a suit. What's his measurements?"

"Pardon the boldness, Master Bruce, but don't you usually prefer to go it alone? So to speak." Alfred asks another question, this time aimed at my decision to bring in another Senior Leaguer to provide support. "And... well... he isn't that... discreet." he adds on as an afterthought.

"Yes, Alfred, however I need him on this one. More his lantern ring than him." I pick up a pen and write down a memo of his size.

"What about Mr Stewart, then? He seems to be more professional." Alfred suggest nothing that I haven't already carefully considered.

"Too professional- he'll stick out more than Hal. And, he has shown to be lacking in social abilities, whereas Hal can handle a few conversations with corrupt officials wanting to bolster their image." I refuse the suggestion and walk round the table, seating myself in the chair facing Alfred.

"If you are absolutely sure, then I will trust your judgement. Is there anything else?" the person that I thought of as a second father for all these years puts his hands behind his back.

"One thing: make sure that Dick is alright when he gets back. Apart from that, get some rest." I implore the man with my eyes as well as words, despite knowing that he will certainly refuse. "I mean it, Alfred."

"Master Bruce, in all my years serving your family, I have never rested whilst there was work to be done. Before you comment on my age, Master Bruce, I will have you know that I am as spry as ever. Well... after a cup of tea, anyways."

Even with his many years, Alfred can still bring a smile to my face. It appears that the troubling times haven't affected all of us, yet. "You should do that more often, Master Bruce. Smile."

"When there's something to smile about, I will. Go on, Alfred."

"Good day, Master Bruce." the wise butler trudges off out of the room.

Pickping up the phone to call once more, I dial in Hal Jordan's personal number. "Hi, it's Hal." was the Green Lantern's initial greeting.

"It's Bruce." I state and patiently wait for his reply as I could hear him scrambling around in the distance, no doubt getting his ring out.

"Hi... what do ya- what do you need?" he nervously laughs to himself.

"Lex has agreed to allow me a friend to the gala. Be ready on friday, six pm sharp." I speak into the phone. "I'll arrange for a suit to be delivered to your home. Don't get it dirty."

"How uhhh... how expensive is the suit?" Hal gulps.

"Very. As I said, be ready. Meet me at Metropolis station." I can imagine the frantic rush for Hal to get dressed on friday. With that, I place the phone down and cross my arms over the desk at Wayne Manor. _Dick_ _will be okay. He can handle himself._ I assure the deep wrenching within me.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I'm very sorry that this chapter took so long to be put up. However, I will make it up to you by uploading another by Wednesday.**


	22. Escape Escapades

**A/N**

 **As promised my dear fans and friends. Your support is constantly so overwhelming and it's awesome!**

 **If this was a series, I would totally make a tribute video to Kyle, Wally, Supes, and Artemis with 'We could be heroes' as the song. All of them are underestimated at this stage, so it would be cool to see. You guys could make oneeeee? Just kidding (or am I?)**

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 **Elvisfonz23: Your comments are awesome as always, my friend! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!**

 **MoustachedCat: You're very welcome. I'm glad that you enjoyed Conner's POV, as I also enjoyed writing it. Not as much as I do Kyle, but it's close.**

* * *

 **Chapter 22: Escape Escapades**

 **Kyle Rayner's POV**

"Aaannnddd... we're back to square one." I huff at the increasingly dire predicament we bundles of joy face. By that, being utterly surrounded by varying degrees of savage animals- wolves, tigers, a hippo, and a few giant rats. Not to mention we found out that they have been experimented on- and mindcontrolled- by the evil brain. A literal brain.

"Well, technically this is your fault, because you were the one that suggested we confront slimy over there." Artemis speaks out, her back and Kaldur's pressed up against each others and mine, forming a triangle of vision. "So, you have to find a way to get us out."

"Unless calling Dr Phil or Oprah is a viable option, I'm fresh out of miracles. What about you guys? Any biblical acts of legend up your sleeves, if you have any sleeves." I deflect the conversation away from the blame game. Eventually, they will forget this moment and come to terms that I am awesome.

"Apparently, the animals are waiting for something in particular. An order from the brain, perhaps?" Aqualad suggests. "We should aim to take out the machine as quickly as possible."

"How do you plan on doing that? Are you expecting them to let us destroy the brain of the operations?" I snort at the observational command.

"Don't tell me you just said that pun." Artemis sighs.

"Focus, you two. As for your remark Kyle, I'm not expecting them to let us. I'm expecting to not be able to stop our advance." Kaldur says, sternly. "Are you ready for this?"

Gulping at the fiercesome growls that the rabid beasts are making, I mutter "Nope."

"You're not afraid, are you?" I could practically taste the playfulness in Artemis' words.

"Of them, no; of your jokes, yes." instantly, I come up with a retort to shoot back at the blonde archer. "Let's get this over with, guys." I add on at the end.

"Kyle, you focus your attacks on the larger ones. If I can cover you, will you be able to shock the brain, Artemis?" Kaldur bellows out his instructions like the strong and decisive leader that he has grown to be. "On your mark, Kyle."

Theoretically, going on my mark should mean that everyone does their part after I initiate the attack, however, the Young Justice definition of 'on your mark' tends to mean 'you do something and all hell breaks loose, and nobody ends up doing what they're supposed to do.

"Uh... charge! attack! scream! insert inspirational quote here!" I yell at the top of my lungs, despite the growing fear inside my stomach. "Damn it, just hit the things!"

With that, we stampede forwards with teenage tenacity, heading straight for our intended targets. First on my annihilate list is the nasty looking hippo, who is almost crushing the floor with it's weight. Even with one of the most powerful weapons in the galaxy, the prospect of facing off against this monstrosity is frightening.

Right before reaching the mammal, I do a mid-air Immelmann maneuver and during the reverse, I construct a golden chain around it's massive neck and use the turning motion to launch it into an unsuspecting lion preparing to pounce on Artemis. _You owe me one._

However, what I didn't expect is for the hulking beast to get back up unhindered, and without any visible signs of physical injury. "Okay... that shouldn't be happening. Whatever experiments done on these things is far out." I talk to myself whilst formulating another battle plan.

But, I don't get enough time to form a strategy before something hits me from behind, knocking me to the ground face first. My face smacks off the ground painfully, but without injury due to the rings protection protocols.

"That's not fair!" I flop around until I am lying on my back and point my rage ring towards the rodent assailant. It's whiskers twitch around in a weirdly cute way, before it receives a blast of energy to the head. In a similar way to the hippo, it gets back up and shakes off the damage like it was a papercut.

Charging at me, I only just dodge the attack by rolling to the left, narrowly missing by an inch. That blow would have certainly caused me misery when I wake up in the morning after this, so thankfully the bite didn't connect as intended. Instead, the teeth contact with the solid ground with a cringing scrape and screech.

Hopefully finishing this battle with a rage-constructed baseball bat, I slam it into the temple of the massive, oversized rat.

Even with the odd enhancements made to these creatures, the rat falls to the ground with it's chest still heaving; knocking unconscious, and out of the fight for the time being. Now, I can direct my valuable attention on the hippo, which is still staring at me.

 _What are you waiting for, big guy?_ I muse at the awkward sight. _Come to your local vet, Kyle Rayner._

Seems to me that the fella's waiting for me to make the first move. Not the greatest strategy as it gifts me plenty of time to think, which in turn equals me coming up with a creative way of taking him out. The power rings versatility is my best asset, but my colourful brain comes at a close second, in my opinion. _I could chain him down and buy time for the others, but they appear to be fairly strong without any modifications. Let's go with that for the moment, Kyle._

Amidst the chaos of the battle and the accompanying sounds- roars, cracks as hits land, and the occasional yelp from Artemis- I begin constructing a large net, ready to drop the apparatus on the hippo and any other animals that happens to cross paths with the crimson red hardlight.

Before carrying out the action, I swiftly scan the abnormally large space for my heroes-in-arms. Aqualad is in the process of drawing the attention of the beasts, with Artemis trying to wait for a gap through the animals, so she can end this by incapacitating the brain.

Hopefully, the special training and immense experience of the two will be enough to power through the defences and get that brain on a set of wheels. _Here's hoping._ I think to myself, fixing my eyes on my prey once more.

Still, the rabid hippo didn't have the gall to seize the advantage by attacking whilst I was glancing around to note the progress of my team. Well, our team.

"You ready for this, toughie? Because I'm coming for ya." I encourage the less fearful half of my personality to take the helm and steer me towards victory.

Without another word, I imagine the net landing over the rooted mammal, and the ring does the rest of the work. Before my waking eyes, the net floats itself over the enemy and drops down, coating the hippo with it's unbreakable embrace. Struggling slightly under the powerful webbing, the animal thrashes around for a few moments before seemingly giving up and freezing.

From where I am hovering above the violence, the fear creeps up, a pungent aroma that starts to cloud my senses from within my own mind. Feeling my grip on rage slip from my heart and fright building in the deeper crevices of my head, I prepare to deal with the consequences.

Sure enough, the crimson net dims minutely, but painstakingly continues growing darker and darker. Perhaps noticing the looser hold, the entrapped animal re-emerges in a frenzy, biting down on the net with the force of Superman.

 _Really? Out of all the moments my rings could have went loco, they decide to do it when I have a weirdly durable and highly dangerous beast under control._ I resist the temptation to whine and cry about how unfair my life is. _T_ _hat's Conner's job, the last I heard._

 **Robin's POV- Meanwhile**

Heading down the fourth hallway that we have encountered, the others are starting to fatigue, with Wally falling behind the most. "Wally, have you had anything to eat lately?" I ask the semi-speedster, knowing the repercussions that come with him not eating the amount of calories he should be.

"No... got... nothing... left." he gasps out in exhaustion.

"Do you want us to stop for a second?" the thought will be good for the dynamic duo of Miss M and Superboy as well, seeing as though they are both sweating.

"We can't." Conner speaks up, his eyes narrowed on the empty space ahead.

"Wally needs to rest, Conner. He's running out of energy." M'gann implores Conner, to which his gaze softens and he gradually slows down to a slight jog and falls in line with, he does the most Conner thing to do and swoops him into his arms before speeding up again.

"I guess that works." I mutter to myself.

Silence ensues as we carry on, both exhausted and determined to escape this place. Thankfully, the intense training Batman makes me the most fit person in the team, even without the powers of Conner, Kaldur, M'gann, Wally, or Kyle. I guess that Batman always knew that I was going to need the added endurance in the future. Or, he simply enjoys forcing me to the limits of human capabilities every time we train together. Either way, it's the training that's keeping me ahead of the other members.

It lasts until our dunce- Kid Flash- takes the opportunity to do his daily dose of flirting and inappropriate names. "How are you feeling, sugarcake?" he asks M'gann. The metaphorical steam coming out of Conner's ears makes the rude comment even more amusing to the redhead.

"I'm fine, Wally. My legs are starting to go heavy, but is that normal? We didn't run a lot on Mars." she answers without breaking stride, her voice showing no awkwardness. She probably thinks that he's just being friendly.

"Uh... why aren't you flying, M'gann? You can do that, right?" Wally changes the subject with the temperamental clone threatening with his eyes. "It should make things a lot easier for you."

Roughly, Miss Martian slaps her forehead. "Hello, Megan!" she exclaims and takes off into the air. "I totally forgot that I can fly." she matches the pace of us grounded heroes with a smooth cruise.

Out of all the members of our team, is M'gann the only one that actually has no idea what's going on? Sometimes, it's almost impossible how carefree she can become, even with the world descending into utter chaos around her. As Batman would say 'reality is different from what it appears' or that's the sort of cryptic riddles that come out of his mouth, making the Riddler look normal and perfectly sane.

"Enough chit-chat, we need to head for the others." I order my teammates in the same tone as Aqualad would.

 **Kyle's POV**

So... being the ignorant fool that I am, the whole point of my role in this fight is to stop the bigger beasts from grouping up on the support squad and well... the outcome is exactly as it shouldn't be. When the hippo you are trapping escapes and immediately heads for Kaldur, it's definitely classed as an absolute failure on my part.

 _They are so going to put me in intense training for the rest of my life,_ I mentally groan. _Say goodbye to your hero placement, Kyle._

Terrifyingly fast and powerful, nature's tank is charging straight for the turned back of the unknowing Atlantean. Still, I have precious time to react as it has only reached halfway to its intended target, and that changes the balance in my favour. All I have to do is dwell on ways to halt the thing in it's four-legged tracks without bringing any harm to the others in the process.

Bearing in mind that the fear ring at what I call 'stronger than the other ring' charge, I can't acid spit the flooring in front of it.

 _Think, you ape, think. What's the use of a ring limited by your imagination if you don't have any? The answer is zero, none, and nothing,_ I anxiously think with the distance rapidly decreasing.

Then, the most unimaginable (not so much, because I did imagine it) idea pops into my head. Letting the image brew like boiling water in the deep trenches of my brain, I allow it to flow around my body, carried by the veins to the tips of my fingers and back. Doubt- through fear- creeps in, but I easily quench it for this moment of pure genius. Out of all the constructs I have fashioned together, this has to be the peak of perfection.

Opening my eager eyes, I see tens of me standing still, each one facing the charging animal. The linings of each shape occasionally glints gold, however to the untrained eye it would be reasonably true to life.

With another amused thought, the copies all start chanting. "Who's the best!? Who's the best!? Who's the best!?" although not in synch with some screaming and others muttering, they all say the question with equally funny faces. The shouting carries on without them attempting to breathe.

As expected, many of the combatants, including Artemis and Kaldur, startle in surprise. Even Aqualad appears to be mortified at the prospect at more than one me, which is totally understandable, coming from the person that they would hate to have clones of. Add in the wide-eyed trance that Robin Hood has roped herself into and you have a highly entertaining sight. If only Conner was here to witness this display of utter brilliance, it would make for a magnificent memory.

"No!" a distant, male voice sounds out. _Speak of the grump and he shall come,_ I roll my eyes.

"Not another one!" he cries, being emphasised by a lion landing on top of a few of 'me' people.

Seizing the opportunity they needed, Artemis leaps over the massively confused animals and bounds two steps at a time towards the Brain, who is weirdly still hanging around the fringes of the ensuing battle, despite having no real abilities to note.

Before any enemies could change their position, she fires a trick arrow into the Brain and it lodges in the exposed circuitry at the front of the mechanical body. Sparks visibly surge around the machine and as it powers down, words could be heard from the sick villain. "Sacré Bleu!... I would have succeeded if not for you meddling kiddss." it eventually shuts off the awful French accent with an audible sound, comparable to a computer powering off.

Since the animals scurry of like rats- no pun intended- I release the constructed ploys and let out a yell of triumph. "Oh yeah! That'll teach you to mess with us!"

"Shut up." the less agitated Conner scowls.

"What's up, buddy? My genius saved this team, friend." I wink at him, causing further anger to radiate from the teenage clone. "Thanks will be humbly taken, but only if it's genuine. Apart from that, how are we going to get info from that... brain... thingy? Because I am not being the one that touches that mess."

"Hold up and go back a second... what do you mean by 'my genius'? Because that wasn't smart, more incredibly creepy, I would say." Artemis crosses her arms across her chest in her serious pose.

"Without me, you two would be dinner." I snort away the criticism.

"Okay, guys and girls, chill out. We got the baddie and are all fine, so that's a victory in my book." Kid Flash says.

"Indeed. We did good work today." Kaldur agrees with the speedster, albeit in a more depressing tone. "Let's get to the bio-ship."

Suddenly, a hand drags me back, preventing me from leaving with the rest. Robin was who the appendages belonged to, weirdly enough. "Can I speak to you for a second, Kyle? Whatever's said needs to stay between us." she whispers, nervously glancing to make sure that Superboy is out of earshot.

The question is vague, but has me hooked. "Sure, I guess."

Pulling me in closer, he whispers into my ear "We have a traitor on the team."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Thankfully, I was able to upload this on Wednesday as promised. However, it is near midnight in UK GMT, so it might be day for everyone else. Lol, I have no idea how timezones work!**

 **Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed the 22nd Chapter. We are really starting to power along to the finale, aren't we?**

 **Next episode/part will be on Wednesday, I expect.**


	23. Banquet Bouncing

**A/N**

 **Here's a special update for all of you people. Hope you enjoy this latest edition.**

 **What do you guys think of me making a Kon-El story set years in the future... as Superman Prime!?**

 **6,400 views! 55 Reviews! 20 favouritors, and 29 Followers! Keep it up!**

 **Reviews**

 **patattack: Believe me, I would also be having nightmares.**

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* * *

 **Chapter 23: Banquet Bouncing...**

 **Bruce Wayne's POV**

 **October 15th, 6:00PM- LexCorp Annual Gala**

Lex Luthor's annual fundraiser- designed to improve his public image and gain unsuspecting donors. The donations obviously never reach genuine charities, but to organisations under Lex's control. However, I have never uncovered where the money is funneled to, as of yet. That all changes today.

Technically, no-one- perhaps apart from Luthor- would suspect the billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne of investigating this, due to my apparent hobbies, which I use as a cover. Who would believe such a relaxed person would be Batman?

"How did you measure this suit? It's a perfect fit." my guest asks in his usual manner. "And... I have to say it's got some taste." he carries on with his incessant mumblings.

"Focus Hal, or you will ruin the cover." I sternly order as we approach the entrance to the wealthy venue. Even to me, commanding without the suit on is odd and unnatural, knowing that my face is revealed for everyone to see.

Alfred parks the car outside the hall in one smooth, experienced motion. Proof that years of practising can hone your everyday skills to perfection. For me, it's wearing the cowl and cape that has become a second nature. It's strange how much varies between individuals.

"Stay safe, Master Bruce, Mister Hal." Alfred looks at us from the mirror, his eyes sharp and serious. That same look was what I developed the glare from, or what the other Leaguers have named the 'Bat-glare'. "When shall I be at the ready?" he asks.

"Give us four hours." I nod to Alfred and exit the vehicle, nearly being blinded by the flash of multiple cameras. _Who invited the sharks?_ I resist the urge to grunt or stare at the photographers, instead placing a friendly smile on my face, pretending to be the man I'm not.

Walking down to the entrance, I notice the real, cheesy smile on Hal's features. Despite the many battles that the fellow founding member of the Justice League has faced, he still finds a way to make the most out of his happiness. Definitely more than I could ever imagine happening to me, in any case.

"You look like you've been shot, Bruce, liven it up." Hal whispers, covering his mouth by faking a cough.

 _I'm starting to lose my touch,_ I think, replacing the unconscious frown with a sudden beam. _Soon, Dick will have to take over. He's got heart, but... he isn't as cruel as I have been._

Entering the prestigious, expensive event, a slight excited noise comes from Hal Jordan. "How do people pay for all this?" he incredulously asks.

"Money." I deadpan, earning a snort from the Green Lantern.

"Why does your sense of humour completely reflect your personality? I didn't know that depressing and psychotic can be associated with amusement." Hal shoots back, but in a more comedic tone than my dry joke. "Oh, little cakes." he rushes off to the serving table the second his eyes fluttered over it.

 _For such good morals, he lacks sincerity,_ I sigh out loud.

"My my, Bruce Wayne. Didn't think you would emerge from your drinks and join us."

Inwardly cursing the owner of the voice- whom I know- I turn around in a polite and respectful manner. It is none other than Oliver Queen, who I also the Green Arrow in his spare time.

"Great to see you again, Oliver. How are you enjoying the party?" I return the greeting with a smile.

"It's uh... quaint. Lex graciously invited me over the phone." Oliver responds, though with hesitation. He's a smart person and so he should know that I wouldn't be here without a reason. For the past two years, I have been faking illness to avoid the party. "You?"

"No. I called him to make sure that I can bring a friend, as well; Hal Jordan, have you heard of him?" I answer, to which Oliver's face flickers at the mention of Hal. Now, there's no doubt as to why I have shown up. It can only mean business.

"Did you mean the guy over there that's destroying the appetisers? If so, he's strange company for Bruce Wayne." he loses the amusement in his tone and changes it into a slightly serious voice, but not enough to appear different from anyone else.

"He's great at finding things." I start laughing as another guest brushes by. For all he could know, we were talking about our assistants and I want to keep it that way.

"Well, Bruce, not much for him to find in here. Lex's assistants are top of the line, never miss any speck of dust." Oliver says, hinting that he wants to help the mission.

"If only I had such good people at WayneTech, my personal office wouldn't be such a mess all the time." I joke, concealing the aim of the espionage. However, the glint in Green Arrow's eyes tells me he understands what needs to be done.

"I don't know much about this place, but I've heard that the third floor is spectacular at night." he implies before sauntering off with a final, friendly nod.

It wasn't long before Hal showed up at my side, stuffing his face with the cupcakes, each adorned with an impressive array of topping- gold flecks, dried, caramel sugar, and other things. "Was that Oliver Queen?" he asks, nearly coughing with food in his mouth.

"How about we have a look around before the speeches start?" I gently push him towards the stairwell, avoiding as many onlookers as possible. The fewer people who know where we are, the better. "Apparently, the third floor is great. Take a peek whilst I have chats with these fine people." I say, swerving off to join a group of the worlds more dubious socialites.

Approaching the gathering with a broad smile, I notice the one and only Lex Luther standing amongst the crowd, standing in the center as though proclaiming to the masses. "Good evening, gentlemen, and ladies." I greet the variety of unsavoury siphoners- corrupt politicians, cartel advocates, megalomaniacs, and illegal experiment sponsors. The most villainous of them all is the xenophobe himself. Pity, as if he would have taken a different stance, he could have molded into a valuable ally of the Justice League. Under all the hatred, there is a deep part of him that wants the best for humanity.

"Glad that you could make it this year, Bruce." Lex was the first to cordially extend his hand to me.

Taking the hand, I meet Lex's unflinching gaze. "And so am I."

"Mr Wayne, might I say it's an honour to finally meet you. The name's Maxwell. Maxwell Lord." another of them greets. Officially, Bruce Wayne has never encountered Lord before, but the Batman certainly has. Known for his backdealings to form the League, his villainy is well known to the founding members. Apart from that, I would say he is simply an amoral businessman.

"The pleasure is all mine, Mr Lord. I hope that you are having a fantastic evening, because I certainly am." I show respect back. Although, my attention was truly focused on the greying, one-eyed man to the side of Luther. Muscular and attentive, that face is recognisable even without a mask on, considering that the Batman has seen his face plenty of times before.

 _Slade Wilson? What is a hired killer like him doing here?_ I muse, directing my attention to Lex. _Hal needs to be careful if he doesn't want to be caught._ Somehow, I have a feeling that he's being the complete opposite. It's just his nature to mess things up.

 **Hal Jordan's POV**

"I'm sorry sir, but this floor is restricted. Since all donations are being collected here, it's off limits unless you have a pass." the tall, imposing guard orders me. An outline of a gun temporarily appears as he moves towards me.

"Ohhh... I thought that there was a nice view here. Lex must have been confused." I sigh, quiet comically. "Thanks for the warning."

"Wait," the man gestures for me to stay. "Did Mr Luther send you?" he asks, nervous.

"Yes. He said that it's pretty nice up here." I lie. This ruse might just work after all. "I'll go tell him that I'm not allowed up here."

"No, that won't be necessary. You are welcome to take a look around, Mr Wilson." the guard anxiously says and strides off with the pace of a rabid cheetah. _Slade Wilson was supposed to come here? No wonder he ran off before I could hurt him._

Continuing on with the current objective, I spot a conspicuously placed door at the end of the hallway. Heading towards it, I at least pretend to act like Slade Wilson- dominating, and would shoot you for looking him in the eye. In fact, I'm surprised that the guard actually thought that I am the infamous Deathstroke.

Carefully opening the door whilst glancing around for cameras, I send my ring to scan for any and comes back without any detections. _Why would he have cameras in here? People could steal it and expose him. Why does he even have an office at this event anyway?_

Slithering into the room with my lantern suit enabled, I search the most obvious place for any incriminating or revealing material- the desk drawers. Obviously, the search came up empty as Lex Luther isn't that simple to decrypt. So, I ask myself another question: _If I was a supervillain, where would I hide my secrets?_

A safe would be the second most clichéd option to seek out, but that's been ruled out of the equation by Lex's intelligence. So, that leaves the last option where I could find the things that Bruce said we should look for- in plain sight. It's easy, brilliant, and dismissable.

 _Where would I hide something where everyone can see it?_ the question raises one conclusive realisation. _We are at a gala. I'd hide something in the cake._

Rushing out of the room, I have another thing to do before leaving- wipe the guard's memories of me. Being a Green Lantern, I have the power to do so, but it's only supposed to be used in extreme circumstances. Having Lex realise that Bruce Wayne's friend tried to intercept his contract will raise serious question marks about Bruce, and that would be disastrous for Batman. Luckily for him, I'm a good enough friend to cover my tracks.

Nearly powerwalking into the guard, I quickly tamper with his memories whilst brushing past him and striding for the stairs. Before the man comes out of his temporary confusion, I near leap down the flight of stairs, heading to the ground floor.

Hurrying off the last few steps, I immediately approach Bruce- chatting to some random guy that I don't know- whilst trying to maintain at least some resemblance of calm. However, I need to speed up as the message that Lex is leaving for Slade could involve Young Justice, according to Batman. If Lex Luthor has schemes for the future of the league, then it can only mean terrible things for the aspiring heroes.

And, it's my duty as a founding member to help protect those teenagers.

Softly pulling Bruce away from his social duties, I whisper "sorry," to the person he was conversing with and continue dragging him to a quieter place. The other end of the room should suffice.

"Don't touch me again." he growls as soon as exit earshot. "You better have a reason for almost causing a scene with one of the UN's highest ranking diplomats."

"Sorry, Mr Aristocrat, but Slade Wilson is here." I whisper, albeit angrily.

"I know. He's supposed to be getting a contract off Lex." Bruce states, not a shred of concern in his voice. "I overheard more than a few of the rumours. Any luck on your end?" he asks, once again descending into the cool demeanour of Batman.

"Well... I didn't really search the room, because I thought that Lex is too smart for that. I think he hid it in the cake, in a compartment or something." I anxiously reveal to the world's greatest detective. Despite the emotional shielding he loves to surround himself with, I can tell he's beyond furious.

"The whole reason I brought you is to do a quick scan without drawing attention. If you didn't do that, why did I bring you?" Bruce gives a subtle hint that it's going to be a long while before I ever go to events like this again. "Go home, Hal. You've done enough."

Even though I'm rearing to uncover the truth, the glare I am receiving is enough of a warning to make me leave. No-one- not even a veteran Green Lantern- messes with the Batman when he's mad.

 **Batman's POV- Later on...**

There are a few things that I have learnt in my regret-filled life, all of which have saved me over the course of the many years that I have donned the cape and cowl. One of them is to keep even the closest of friends at a distance, both physically and emotionally. Hal may be a close friend- to me, at least- but I can't let his occasional naïvity get in the way of justice and the right thing. However, he did get one thing correct: Lex did hide the contract in the cake.

So when Slade Wilson asked if he could take some of it to go, Luthor instantly agreed. And now, Deathstroke is being discreetly tailed by the Batmobile, unaware. Though I can't be sure of it, I still have to wait for an ample opportunity to pass. Otherwise, Slade and the contract could escape me, endangering the lives that Lex wants dead.

In the back of my mind, I already have a solid assumption of the names scribed on the list- Robin, Kid Flash, Superboy, Aqualad, Miss Martian, Artemis, and Green Lantern. My only other question is simple, yet thoroughly disturbing: how did Lex know about Young Justice?

Sinisterly, the last viable conclusion is that the team has a mole. But who?

That thought will have to be placed on temporary hold as Deathstroke slows down, incredibly so. _I've been made._

Slamming on the Batmobiles accelerator, the armoured car rapidly gains on the black Sedan. As expected, Deathstroke sees that escape is improbable and exits the vehicle, casually strolling to the rear and staring down the approaching motor. He remains that way- unflinching, relaxed, and unfazed. This is because he fully knows that I never kill; a fact he has constantly reminded me of as making me thoroughly predictable.

Still, this code is to prevent me from stooping to the level of a common criminal, and one man- no matter how enhanced- will make me willingly break the code.

Braking the Batmobile with a smooth skid, I eject from the vehicle before it halts, gliding through the night air before touching down in front of Deathstroke. Yet, the hired killer only appears to be slightly amused by the usually intimidating display.

"Theatrics? I thought that we agreed your mind tricks don't work on me." Slade snorts, his voice minutely muffled by the mask he is wearing.

Now clad in his impressive set of nth metal armour and adorned with various levels of lethal weaponry, the sight would be enough to melt most men's determination to butter. However, you cannot scare a man who fear itself has abandoned it's grip over.

"Why are you in Metropolis, Slade?" I demand, cutting straight to the chase.

"That question most definitely applies to you as well, Batman. Why is the dark crusader of Gotham in the city of steel?" Deathstroke counters, embroiled in the battle of wits we often commence whenever we meet. "Unless, Superman doesn't know you are here. Good... I'd rather kill you without that alien interrupting us."

"You call him the alien, Slade, but you are. Senseless killing for money makes you less of a human than him. You have hurt so many people for your own greed that you forgot what it means to be human- justice, compassion." I glare at the Terminator.

"Compassion," Slade sneers under his mask. "coming from the hypocrite."

With that, he charges forward with a battle cry, whilst I move forward without the faintest whisper. The clash is one of skill, energy, and extraordinary acrobatics. No man can gain the upper hand as strike after strike is predicted and parried by both of us. Our fighting abilities are even, the playing field level.

All until a flash of green, followed closely by Slade falling to the ground harshly. Annoyingly, Hal Jordan hovers above me, smirk plastered on his face. "Need some help?"

"No." I briefly snap, moving over to Deathstroke and searching his pockets. Something snags on my gauntleted fingers and I take it out, carefully trying not to rip the paper.

"What does it say?" Hal appears directly behind, infuriatingly peering over my shoulder.

Simply written on a piece of plain paper is the direct instruction 'prepare for Project Solar Dawn'.

"What the hell's Project Solar Dawn?"

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Cheers for reading this folks. Please review your opinions about a Kon-El story!**


	24. YJ Or The Highway

**A/N**

 **Welcome back, guys and girls. Here's another one for your reading pleasure, hopefully. Next piece will hopefully up on Sunday.**

 **6,800 views! 57 reviews! 31 followers, and 22 favouritors! You people spoil me silly.**

 **I don't know about you guys, but the recent talks about another season of YJ is getting me too hyped! Please, bring the show back for one last season!**

 **Reviews**

 **Elvisfonz23: It's good to know that you will be at my side for the long run, friend.**

 **MoustachedCat: Holey moley, huge response from you. The comments you made are so inspiring that I am on a mission to release three more chapters this week- this on Wednesday, others on Friday and Sunday. I hope you are as pumped for the sequal as I am, but what do you think about the Superboy standalone? I'm thinking of calling it 'Man of Prime'**

* * *

 **Chapter 24: YJ Or The Highway...**

 **Kyle Rayner's POV**

 **October 16th, 5:00AM- Bioship**

Troubling news and furious thinking has kept me awake for nearly two days, most of which Robin has purposely sent in circles until he can figure out who the rat is. Still, it amazes me that I'm the only living soul that he has told of the potential traitor. Does he believe that I'm not the spy? Or is this some test to see if I am the spy? Either way, this is severely depressing my mood on a day-to-day basis.

Thinking about it, who could the mole be? There's around three of us that can be ruled out- Wally, Aqualad, and Miss Martian. And don't get me started about how it's impossible for Robin to be the backstabber. He's practically Jesus by how 'good' he can be.

Unsurprisingly, that leaves the tempramental duo of Artemis and Superboy. Both of which could easily be uncovered as a traitor as the other.

Conner Kent- clone, teenager, and manufactured. Out of all of us, he's the only one that could be the mole without him even realising it. Easily, someone could have planted a mechanism or a weird autopilot that makes him forget what he has done, and the worst part is that it's obvious he wants to do the right thing. He wants to overthrow the negative stereotypes that have been implanted on him by the majority of the leaguers, and I'm proud of him for that. But, this is a real possibility that I- and the rest of the heroes- cannot lightly ignore as it could be true, meaning he's no longer safe enough to be apart of the team.

On the other hand of possibilities, Artemis also has a slightly questionable alibi. Apart from what she's already told us, what else do we know about her? Yes, she's smart, cute and sassy, but that's just a classic spy. Yet, something about her seems... off. Green Arrow's niece? If so, why did Robin catch her sneaking around in Gotham once? The coincidence appears too convenient to not question. Immediately after Roy left the team- according to the others told me- Artemis suddenly appeared with spectacular bow skills out of nowhere, saving them in a fight with Metallo.

"Why are you awake at this time?" the soft voice of Artemis suddenly asks, yawning at the same time.

 _Great, now I have to come up with a believable lie,_ I curse my horrendous luck. "Just thinking a lot. You know... about this strange adventure we find ourselves embarked upon."

"Okayyy... know you are making me even more worried." Artemis sits up on her chair from the awkward sleeping positions the team often finds ourselves in. Drawbacks of sleeping on a plane instead of a cosy bed. "I mean, you... thinking? The thought is disturbing."

"Aww, are you worried about me, sugarcake?" I tease her using one of Wally's terms, hoping to change the subject.

"One: If you ever call me that again, I'll shoot you with an arrow, and two: why wouldn't I be worried? We're a team." she glares. I laugh.

"Sure thing, Artemis. Team." I say once the hysterical laughing died down.

"You have two seconds to explain what that means, before I actually take those rings and throw them out of the window." she threatens, moving menacingly closer.

"Don't tell me you didn't think I knew." I tease further, to which she sighs and genuinely tries to rip the power rings off my fingers. "Ow, st-stop! I... was... only... joking!" I gasp out between defending her reaches by quickly moving my hands out of the way. "Let's face it... you looovvveee me."

Just like that, she immediately scurries back to her chair, eyes wider than Wally's when he sees food, in apparent shock. _Okay... that has got to be the weirdest reaction I have ever seen from anyone. I wonder why, though? Was it something I said?_ I muse as we stare at each other- me with confusion and her in terror. The fear practically reeks off of her at the moment.

"What are you two doing?" Kid Flash yawns from the side, but our eyes are fixated together. _Will she stop it? It's scary._

"Nothing!" we both answer in perfect unison, making me altogether embarrassed for no reason. _What's going on with me?_ I almost scream as a sudden wave of excruciating agony barrels against my heart, seething my whole body as though on fire. It carries on, forcing me to block out the words spoken between Artemis and Wally with the crippling pain. _Is this what a heart attack feels like?_ I think, clutching my heart roughly in a bid to stop the pain. _No. This is far too long to be anything natural._

"Kyle!" a yell wakes me as my vision starts to blur, accompanied shortly by a sharp sting flaring across my cheek. Uncontrollably, I cough up a thick, warm substance and choke a little out onto the floor.

Hisses and bubbles emerge from the small puddle of blood as it's acid corrodes into the floor. But, the real question is how it got there. The slap definitely wasn't hard enough to cause bleeding, so maybe it was the now calm throbbing in my chest. Still, the puddle isn't a great sign.

"Did I really hit you that hard?" Artemis examines her hand as though it was a weapon of mass destruction.

"Let's get away from how hard you hit him and to 'oh my god, his blood is acidic, and he's sweating like cattle in a slaughterhouse'." Kid Flash redirects the attention back to me, clearly distressed. "Are you okay, man?"

"Yeah." I manage to spit out. "Just dandy."

"Kyle, are you alright?" Robin appears out of nowhere with his wrist computer, presumably scanning for problems.

"Me and Artemis were talking; he started sweating heavily and retching out blood." Wally explains, the concern still laced in his voice.

"Maybe we should return to Mount Justice, he could need immediate medical attention." Kaldur suggest from the back of the group now crowding my chair.

Conner makes a disgruntled noise from the back. "He'll be fine. He's had worse injuries than that, he is overreacting."

"Conner!" M'gann instantly exclaims.

"Guys, guys, guys, I'm all good. Seriously, if I start dying you will be the first to know." I glance at Robin for a split second. "There's no need to go home, just yet. We have a highly important mission to complete, remember?"

"I know, but... family comes before the mission, right?" Robin says, earning nods of agreement from the majority of the team. "And, we can't afford to go one man down, even if said man is annoying, obnoxious, and has a split personality." he adds as an afterthought.

Another grunt comes from the brooding figure of Conner Kent. "You can say that again." he huffs.

"Do you ever stop pretending to hate me, Conner? It's getting too old." I sneer back, causing him to grunt and near smile at the same time.

"So, that leaves the important question: If we aren't going home, then where are we going?" Wally tiredly asks, highlighting the overall mood of the squad- me and Robin excluded from the equation, of course.

Aqualad heads to his seat and gently seats himself. "Since the brain was our last lead, how about we head to the source of the problem?" he coolly suggests whilst gazing reflectfully out of the window and into the lights creeping over the horizon.

"What is the source? We don't know where the Light is based." Superboy also sits in his seat.

"No, not the Light. Out of all the problems we have encountered, there must be one conclusion. Grodd required an island, the Brain needed money to fund it's experiments, Queen Bee with the scientists to investigate Sphere, and Ra's al Ghul needed information about Young Justice. All of which could be provided by one man..." Aqualad ponders out loud.

"Lex Luthor." Robin finishes the sentence, practically hissing out the name well known to most heroes.

Before anyone could input to that thought, a deep voice rings out within our heads. " _Members of Young Justice, halt and return back to Mount Justice._ " it orders in the voice of the Martian Manhunter, which explains how the voice is inside my mind.

"Uh, M'gann, what is the range of your powers?" Artemis asks.

"Not too far, but he can't be so close, can he?" she answers, looking to Robin along with the rest of us.

"Well... maybe he could have tracked us somehow. It is a Martian ship after all, right? He could track us using the telekinetic signature of something whelming like that." Robin anxiously rubs his forehead. Weird, considering that this is the first time he has ever been anxious about anything. "If Manhunter is on our tail, the other leaguers won't be far behind. Prepare for anything."

"Prepare for anything? Are you insane!?" I incredulously ask. "Do you really want to fight them?"

"Robin's right, Kyle. We've come too far to go back and get grounded." Conner cracks his knuckles.

"Say we do fight them, okay? We get our behinds handed to us and an extra scolding. Do you really want the boyscout lecturing us about how to behave? We'll be like Shazam within the week." I implore them to see reason, but even Miss M appears determined to get our way. "Wow, Kyle, thanks for being the sensible one for a change. Let's go fight our mentors, alright!"

After that, my vision blurs out with a sharp pain. The last fading thought whilst I lose consciousness is _how dare they?_

 **Kon-EL/Superboy's POV**

Kyle harshly collapses to the ground from his chair, leaving Artemis stood with her bow at the ready. "Did you just knock him out, Artemis?" Wally steals the words directly from my amused mouth, although more in shock than the entertainment I am feeling.

"Gee, Wally, I only tapped him on the shoulder." Artemis replies in his usual sarcastic manner. "What do you think I did?"

Although I am delighted to see the annoying idiot finally shut up, I still have to admit that if this does turn into a full-scale fight, we need someone of his power level. Now, we have only one person that can fly against who knows what- Hawkman, Green Lanterns, and even Superman himself.

"M'gann, contact your uncle. Let him know what our answer is." Aqualad commands, a steel resolve detectable in his tone. Whilst Kaldur is normally relaxed and calm, I personally know that he can be deadly serious when he desperately wants something.

"I've told him. He didn't say anything back." Miss M states, worried. "There's no going back, now."

Good, one less doubt to push away before things erupt. That leaves the rest of my concerns: even if Kyle was trying to dissuade us, he does have a genuine point- we can't stand up against the experienced veterans. But, he got another thing wrong; we can certainly give it our best shot.

" _Please, listen and return to Mount Justice. This journey you are on is making everyone worried._ " Martian Manhunter attempts another persuasion, but his plight inevitably falls on deaf ears. " _We will not force you to return, but know this: the League is counting on you- the future- and you are not setting a good opinion. Think about this._ "

Silence takes over as we inwardly deliberate our next move. "They took that pretty well, at least." KF ruins the process. "Which is kind of... odd, considering that he tracked us down... just to let us go."

Robin's eyes go wide. "They're not letting us go! They want us to be surprised!"

True enough, my ears pick up the faint flutter of capes. "They are here. Not too far away." I inform the group. Everyone freezes, no clue what to do. "How are we supposed to fight? Only one of us can fly? We can't just stay in the ship."

"M'gann, land the ship in the nearest open space, preferable with high areas on the side." Aqualad orders the Martian. Obeying, she frantically scurries to the pilot's seat and steers it. Instantly, the ship tilts slightly downwards, beginning the descent. "Everyone else, prepare yourselves. We need to stand up for ourselves, by any means necessary." he adds on afterwards.

"Maybe we are taking this too far, guys. They're the good guys, just like us." Wally sighs, scratching his neck with nervousness.

"I know, Wally, but they need to realise that we _can_ do things on our own, like they trained us to do. If they want to control what we do, how does that make them better than villains?" Robin assures his friend, but remains firm in his stance.

Despite the redeeming qualities of Superman, he's also a major hypocrite. Freedom and justice- his morals. And yet, he achieves neither on a daily basis. Freedom is supposed to apply to everyone, but not to people under you? And he apparently seeks out justice, but justice isn't letting mass murderers do something awful again, simply because you don't want to ruin your sense of right and wrong. It's selfish.

If there every comes a time that I become the 'Man of Steel', I won't fall into the same foolish traps that he has. I would build a world where people are truly safe, from harm and crime. And, I'll do it along those words. By any means necessary.

When M'gann eventually lands the bioship in a fairly open, expansive plain, I was the last to exit. Of course, Kyle is still unconscious on the floor of the ship.

There they are- Superman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Captain Atom, Zatara, Shazam, and Hawkgirl- waiting to hand us the scolding of a lifetime. It's too bad that they have nothing to say to us that we don't already understand.

"Are you, uhh... you people, alright?" the Flash was the first of the veterans to greet, cringing under the threatening glare coming from the Amazon princess, Wonder Woman.

"Not bad." Wally answers, not with his consistent chilled out attitude. The tension is seeping into everyone, apparently.

"Get on the ship and go home." Superman commands, noticeably directing it towards me.

"How dare you!?" I burst out, letting the anger flow through my body. Many of the people around me flinch at the sudden explosion. "You can't avoid me like a disease and then come here, ordering me around like you want to do what's best for us! If you truly knew what's best, you would leave me alone and never come back! Sometimes, I don't know how an inconsiderate man like you can be called a hero!"

Gasping and with veins close to ripping out of my forehead, it actually feels as though a mountain has been taken off my chest. And looking at the guilty expression of 'Superman' I've never felt more alive. I have gave him enough time to be my father, so I'm done with him.

"Stand down, Superboy." Wonder Woman steps closer to us, toeing the fine line that prevents me from tearing her apart.

"Wonder Woman, can you step back please? You're not helping." Shazam nervously asks, as though fearing that she will turn on him. For the most part, I can't blame him. No man- Kryptonian or otherwise- would want this particular Amazon against them.

"How about we all relax?" Robin clears his throat. "We're all on the same side... I think."

"M'gann, why are you doing this?" the Manhunter asks.

"I'm sorry Uncle J'onn, but this is what needs to be done. Batman needs us to do this." she answers, causing Wonder Woman to double take.

"Batman? Of course he's behind this excursion, who else would allow them?" she scoffs in nihilism. "How could he not tell us!"

"I'm sure that Batman has his reasons." Superman finally speaks out, although with less confidence than before. "Speaking of Batman." he puts his finger on his ear, blocking me from hearing the conversation efficiently enough. "Okay. Are you sure?" he talks over the comm, making strange noises every so often.

After around one minute of intense listening, he slowly turns around and gazes at the team. "Batman wants to see you, urgently."

"And we can't make him wait, can we?" I puff.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Well, that's all for this chapter folks. I hope you enjoyed the overall randomness of it all! But, isn't that the point of fanfiction?**

 **With warm regards and merry greetings,**

 **Kyle Rayner.**

 **Joking!**


	25. Ambition and Creation

**A/N**

 **Hello people that read my books (I'm running out of things to say) and welcome the newest chapter of Young Justice.**

 **If you have Netflix, keep on watching YJ as they are currently reviewing the audience! #renewyoungjustice OMGGGGGGGGGGGG!**

 **Spoilers: Just so you know, Lex hates Darkseid in this. In my opinion, Lex has a sense of duty to mankind and wouldn't help someone that would destroy it. Lex is always misinterpreted as a crazed obsesser :-(**

 **7,200 views! 61 reviews! 32 followers and 23 favouritors! Keep it up!**

 **Reviews**

 **Elvisfonz23: You're welcome, friend. This story has quite a while to go yet, but the end is nearing.**

 **Griffin13: You will have to wait and see. Or, he'll have to go all Clint Eastwood on you.**

 **Unknown guest:uhh... here you go!**

 **MoustachedCat: Such an awesome review as always! I know that it was slightly random, but that's the whole point. Sometimes, the world needs a little dose of crazy to keep it going. Otherwise, I would get bored and start writing lengthy responses to a review that was so great.**

* * *

 **Chapter 25: Ambition and Creation**

 **Lex Luthor's POV**

 **Meanwhile- LexCorp**

In this world of aliens, traitorous humans, and uncontrollable chaos, there is only one solid, undeniable truth. The strong prevail over the weak, whether it to be a 'hero' or a villain. Of course, many would label me as a bad person simply for wanting to expose their beloved Superman for the dangerous being he is. With the power to destroy the human race, I cannot allow such abilities to exist without restraint or constant weakening, at least.

Alas, their saviour is already on a path to his own demise. Constant battling and vigorous travelling will no doubt take it's heavy toll on his body, and when he returns to the sun to recharge- as it were- I will prepare to end him for the sake of humanity. Not many understand this, unfortunately.

Whereas others lie to protect themselves from the harmful effects of the truth, I lie to defend the people of the world I live in. Why does Superman hide his true identity? If he is so hellbent on being a person more powerful than the rest and wanting to be normal at the same time, he is two things: dangerous and a hypocrite.

Perhaps, I may be thoroughly mistaken about him, but I highly doubt that, my ego will not allow it. One detail that I can't overlook is how he has done a fair few adequate actions to help Earth. Beating back Darkseid's invasion and saving humanity; ample feat, nothing more. For all we know, he could have done it to destroy Earth himself.

"Mr Luthor, the people who have made an appointment is here." my assistant- the human one- informs me, as her duty orders.

"Good. Send them in." I sigh, trying to relax and seat myself behind the large desk. However, I have an inevitable feeling that this specific meeting will be unpleasant to say the least.

The door slides open and the members of the meeting stroll in- The Joker, Black Adam, Count Vertigo, Poison Ivy, Atomic Skull, Ultra-humanite, and Wotan- not your everyday clients and customers to the majority of normal people.

"Lexie boyyyy." the Joker was the first to do away with the formalities, luckily he finds me in a fairly good mood. "How's the hair transplant goin' along?"

"Joker, please let me deal with this. You will get your turn to have some fun." Count Vertigo huffs, clearly agitated by the Joker's antics. _At least if this goes sideways, my friends in the next room can deal with them for me,_ I think, grateful for the mental protection provided by one of the occupants in the next room.

"Oh fine, Verty. Must I say he have a nasty, ol' habit of giving people headaches." the Joker replies, bursting out in maniacal laughter afterwards.

Count Vertigo sighs. "Sorry for the interruptions, Mr Luthor."

"Just get on with it, and stop wasting time." Black Adam grumbles. "Why have you called for us?"

"It's very simple, gentleman... and lady." I resist the urge to smirk and maintain the blank expression currently placed on my face. Ivy tutts at my gesture. "What do all of us have in common? Before you answer the question, allow me to do it for you. We all want to destroy the pitiful Justice League, hence why you named your group the Injustice League. Anyway, I have a plan that will gift the League on a platter to us. Including the young brats. Game?"

The ranging reactions to the speech is quite amusing in my eyes. Joker looks certifiably delighted, Black Adam is indifferent, Poisin Ivy is anxious, Ultra-humanite is pumping it's chest and making odd noises, Wotan is somewhat content, and Atomic Skull is... dead? I have no clue how to describe that thing, even with my extreme intelligence. However, I would comment that Count Vertigo has a skeptical scowl on his face.

"You have a way of baiting the Justice League? That can be arranged by anyone with half a brain cell." Vertigo sneers.

"No, Count, not the League. Rather... the founding members." I counter, witnessing the sudden change of expression on Count Vertigo's face, from dismissal to curiosity. "Imagine it... every founding members and their little children in... one place... one trap."

"Come on, Count, I can picture Batman's agony as my beauties strangle him." Ivy gently touches the Count's sleeve, begging him. _Apparently, he holds them on a short leash. Is he the leader of this outfit?_

"It would be an honour to do battle with Superman once again." Black Adam smiles in the background, however better to crush his hopes now than later.

"I'm sorry, Teth, but the Man of Steel is _mine_." my eyes narrow on him, yet I inwardly curse for using his real name. Instead of intimidating him, it will only spark his anger. "You can have the Amazon. A good battle, yes?" I work swiftly to correct my mistake. The immortal seems content with my offer, so let's leave it at that.

"What is this plan of your human? My superior intelligence will be needed to ensure your natural stupidity doesn't get in the way." Ultra-humanite slights me, to Vertigo's annoyance and wariness. _Good, he's scared of me and rightly so. How about I add to that fear? The time is ripe, I think._

Pressing my finger on the speaker, I open the communications to the next room. "You may come in now." I speak into it.

Seconds later, a sliding door built into the wall opens and my support enters. Standing at the helm is Klarian- the witch boy- and the immortal caveman Vandal Savage, flanked either side by Parasite and Mammoth. Although, the final member- Black Manta- appears to have taken a leave of absence.

"Everything in order, Lex?" Vandal asks without visibly acknowledging me.

"Yes, Vandal, just ironing out the kinks." I cordially answer, giving the elder the respect he deserves for his wisdom and experience. "Any further questions, Count?" I add on.

"Look at that young rascal over there, Lexie. The youth of today are so adorable, aren't they?" the Joker pouts to Klarian, who is altogether someone who the madman shouldn't tangle with, alas he is clinically, beyond insane.

"Shush, clown!" Klarian shoots back.

The Joker makes a theatric 'uw' sound. "nasty one, isn't he? I'd love to turn that frown upside-down. Although, I'm sure that's illegal." he bursts out laughing to himself.

"What is this, Luthor? A show of force?" Black Adam tenses, cracking his knuckles menacingly.

"Try it. I'm hungry, and I've never ate magic before." Parasite literally licks his lips in anticipation.

"Settle down, everyone." I call out, my voice carrying with it a clear threat. "Now, shall we fight each other? Or save it for the Justice League?"

"What about these... "brats' you speak of?" Poison Ivy asks.

For once, I let a quick smile grace my lips. "You will have to wait and see."

* * *

 **Kyle Rayner's POV- Bioship**

Tapping on the edges that encircle the window of the organic ship, a triumphant grin remains plastered on my face. _Victory. Who said that there was no point? Me. Did they listen to my words of wisdom? No. Did they do what I said anyway? Of course, they did._ I think whilst merrily humming a tune to myself, thoroughly enjoying the moment. _As a bonus, we get escorted by one of the league's most easily irritated members. Good times._

"Will you stop humming that incessant tune, please?" said member asks through gritted teeth. And, I have made it my personal goal to annoy the Amazonian princess throughout the entirety of the journey back to Mount Justice.

"I'm sorry, but what did you say? I can't hear you over my beautiful symphony." I joke around with Wonder Woman, adding another scowl to the collection. "You need to loosen up, WW; you scowl more than test tube over there." I carry on, my amusement fading at the furious gaze that Conner is sending. "Too soon? Sorry."

"Knock it off, Kyle!" Artemis warns, facing the window like a sulking child.

"Geez, some people can't take a joke around here." I sigh, disappointed in my comrades. "Apart from Robin's outfit." I mutter to myself.

Robin instantly spins around in his chair, eyes narrowing. "What did you just say?"

"I heard something about an outfit." Conner states to everyone with absolutely zero requirement.

"Was you making fun of _my_ suit? Have you seen yours?" the boy wonder scoffs. "It will make people legally blind with it's ugliness."

Superboy lets out a quiet laugh, disguised as a cough. "Don't get me started about you, Macho Man." I turn on him with righteous fury. "Superman wants his DNA back." I add on at the end.

"Ouch, that's pretty bad, dude." Kid Flash comments from his spectators seat.

"Shush ginger, before I start on you as well." I threaten Wally, who feigns shock with a hand over his heart.

"Can we all relax?" Miss M asks, practically pleading with us. Or me, depending on who she sees as causing the most disruption.

"Yes, please. You're giving me a headache." Wonder Woman rubs her head on the seat she is sitting on, placed directly at the center.

Thinking about it, I can't go on to insult Miss M and Wonder Woman; M'gann is way too amiable to roast and Wonder Woman is well... Wonder Woman. If I start making jokes about her outfit, she's stand up and throw me off the ship, and I don't feel like explaining that to Superman- 'Hi, Superman, I was thrown out for insulting Wonder Woman'- good times.

"Maybe we should calm down, guys. This is getting slightly intense, in my opinion." I suggest to the group, finding it ironic because I was the one that commenced the barrage of jests. However, I am smart enough to comprehend how much pain I will be in for making a jab at the Amazon.

"Are you kidding me? After all that, you are going to stop." Artemis returns to the fold, facing the rest of us like a normal person. Who also happens to be an expert archer that battles villains and goes to high school at the same time. Normal isn't really a word to describe any of us- a semi-speedster, a lantern with a split personality, an archer, two aliens, a boy who is a master hacker since the age of twelve, and a fish-man.

"Yeah... we need to focus now, being so close to everything we have ever wanted." I truthfully reply, now taking my turn staring out of the window.

With the sun burning in the sky with cloud cuddling to either side, it looks as though even that giant gas ball has a family. How does something so fundamentally destructive get close to things? Technically, I know that it's far away, but at this moment, it's looks so near to Earth. That thing can destroy the entire world and yet, it helps us by giving Superman his powers. Can I- something so dangerous- ever help others comparable to that? I guess, I will have to have... hope.

Even though it sounds cringy and weird, the idea of hope is actually inspiring to me. Something that can drive you on even in the darkest of times, granting you the courage and will to carry on. I think that's why the presence of a hope lantern ring supercharges will rings. It's all about inspiration, determination, and visualisation.

"Sooo... with that out of the way, what do you people want to talk about?" Wally speaks up.

"I have something." surprisingly, it was Wonder Woman. "Why don't we talk about what happened back there, and what is happening to all of you? It will help later on, if we understand where each other is coming from."

"Where to start." Artemis sarcastically remarks.

"Bottom line: We are tired of being treated with doubt and like children. Yes, we do have the bodies of teenagers and heck, one of us isn't even one years old yet, but we have the spirit of a team; a family that together, can achieve as much as the Justice League has." Robin starts. "We don't want to be distant from you, however we need independence to grow. Young Justice was meant to be _our_ way of becoming adults."

"Kind of like Teen Titans... actually... that's an awesome name." Kid Flash inputs to the conversation, marvelling at his newest creation.

"One day, we could start calling YJ that." I agree. Wally's face lights up in excitement, similar to how Conner's does at the mere mention on fighting.

"But, aren't you independent enough? You are given your own missions." WW asks, seemingly confused.

"Not missions, princess, dirty work. We do the things that the JL don't want to be seen doing, because they like to think we enjoy it. We want to fight alongside the League, not below. Seriously, you even gave us nannies." I explain the Justice League's flaws.

"How about this: I will talk to Batman and Superman, whilst all of you do as your told, for the time being." she proposes a fair offer, although I don't understand which portion of her head believes that she can convince Batman to change his stance.

 _I would pay a lot of money to see someone try, that's for sure._ I think to myself. _Still, if anyone can sway a man's mind, I'm sure that Wonder Woman can._

"I'm down with that. How about you guys?" I ask them. This is supposed to be a team decision, after all. However, their answers will no doubt follow my awesome lead as they always eventually do.

"As long as I get to hit something, I'll be fine. I can't stand and wait around all day for people to make decisions." Superboy states in his usual angry tone.

"Good for you, Conner." I give a thumbs up, taunting. "And maybe you can finally accept that you are moody, because that would be a miracle."

"How many times do I have to tell you before it gets through to you? I'm not moody!"

"Guys, you're starting to go down to insult town, again." Robin says.

"Calm down, Robin, no one asked for a commentator." I wink. "That includes you, KF."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Thanks for reading people, and before you ask, it was slightly shorter than the normal length of chapters. This was because I only added this chapter into the story at the last second and didn't really know what to put in. Hopefully, it went well enough, but you never know right?**

 **It was shorter as I didn't really need to put anything more in at this point, so it's all relevant (as it gets) and not over random.**

 **This is Kyle Rayner, signing off.**

 **Not really, so I need to stop doing this.**


	26. Together, We Are Powerful

**A/N**

 **Welcome home, friends and YJ family. Before you say anything, this was pushed back to Wednesday, simply because I needed a short break.**

 **Come on season three of YJ! I know you are coming!**

 **7,600 views! 63 Reviews! 34 followers and 24 favouritors! We are so close to 10,000!**

 **Reviews**

 **Elvisfonz23: It's good that you enjoyed the Lex part, as at first I expected people to be... meh, but apparently quiet a large number of you (two, lol) enjoyed it. Be sure to answer the question at the bottom of the page!**

 **MoustachedCat: Do these reviews keep on getting longer? It sure feels like it, in a great way. First answer: Around 3/4. The last two chapters are going to be named 'In Brightest Day' and 'in Blackest Night' and No 2: Tough question, but I have to go with Black Beetle. He gave me the creeps!**

* * *

 **Chapter 26: Together, We Are Powerful**

 **Kyle Rayner's POV**

 **Hours later- Mount Justice**

Here we are... home/Mount Justice/hand-me-down from the mentors. Who knew that something which was begrudgingly passed down could actually become so warm and welcoming. Minus Batman's intimidating and overall depressing presence from the location, it's a good place to start out any heroic career. So... why does it feel so awkward to be at the only place I call home? Oh, right, the Dark Knight is dampening the area with his brooding aura.

Add in the Man of Steel, the ferocious Amazon, the fastest man alive, the last son of Mars and Hal- since he doesn't necessarily have a cool nickname- and you get a parade of self-righteousness being jammed into the darker places of your mind.

"And, that's why you need to obey orders from us. We are trying to help, but protect you at the same time." Superman abruptly closes out, ending the tirade I was too busy daydreaming to listen to. "Are you listening, Kyle?"

Hearing my name called out, I snap out of the trance and shoot my head up. "Yeah, uh, obey, uh, got it, uhhhh, anything else?." I nervously stumble out the words, avoiding the facepalm that Hal is currently doing. Out of everyone, they have to single me out as always.

"Superman, we don't have all day to lecture them. Slade Wilson is in custody, but it doesn't bring an end to Luthor's plans." thankfully, Batman saves me from further embarrassment, directing the conversation to a topic, that we youngsters have no clue what they are talking about. However, anything that is connected to Lex Luthor tends to involve Superman, and not in a friendly way.

"What are they supposed to do about it, Batman? They are just kids." Superman counters, directly slighting us without a second thought.

"Slow down there." I interrupt the two veterans. Once again, Hal's face has drained of all colour and the veins on his forehead are screaming for me to stop. Grudgingly, they face me and suddenly I am under the gaze of the two most imposing figures in the Justice League. To be lost for words is a severe understatement. "Well, I... I, uh... just wanted to point out that we... uhhh, are, uhh... not children. " I let out a nervous chuckle at the end.

"Right," Batman sighs and looks at Superman again. "we need to f-"

"Hold up, I'm not done yet." I cut off the Batman before covering my mouth, realising what I had done. Well, since I have come this far, it's only prudent that I show some spine and continue. "I, along with the rest of the team," I quickly look over my shoulder at them and Wally opens his mouth to speak, but mulls on it and soon closes his mouth. _Thanks for all of this support, guys._ "would love the opportunity to prove to you that we aren't kids, and we will be the heroes you want us to be. Tag us in... coach... Batman."

"Are you serious?" Superman incredulously shakes his head. "To tell us that you aren't children, you interrupted a highly important conversation and called Batman 'coach'" he exhales in a sound similar to a small laugh. "You definitely are Hal's apprentice, aren't you?"

Over in the corner, the Green Lantern does a quick, awkward smile. "He sure is."

"We could use all the help we can muster." Batman's eyes sharpen whilst gazing over the team.

"Don't tell me you are actually considering this?" Superman asks, shocked.

"Let's put it to a vote." was the Caped Crusader's short, decisive answer. "Flash, thoughts?" he firmly asks the scarlet speedster.

"Well, the way that I see it: these guys- and girls- have proven themselves already. Maybe, let them help without shoving them into too much danger." he responds, to the vocal agreement of Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter.

"Like sending us to apprehend Ra's al Ghul." Kid Flash raises an eyebrow, or would be without the face coverings.

"And, sending Kyle and Wa-Kid Flash into a practical war zone, full of super villains." Artemis finishes it off.

"They are kind of right, Barry, we have been dumped into seriously messed up situations." I say, forgetting at the moment that Wally wasn't supposed to have hinted to us that Barry Allen is the Flash.

"Seriously? Batman, did you really send them into these types of miss- wait... did you call me Barry?" the Flash does an amusing double take midawy through his question. "Great... does that mean everyone in this room know my secret identity?" he mutters, yet we can still hear him.

"Join the club." me and Hal puff in unison.

"Back to the matter at hand; whether the Justice League warms to the idea or not, Young Justice has proven to be a valued team." Martian Manhunter returns the focus to the immediate matter. "If the decision does come down to a vote, I believe that they deserve the chance to fight alongside us." he adds, looking to each of his peers.

"Thank you for your input, Martian Manhunter. Now, all of those in favour, Young Justice excluded from the vote." Superman addresses the founding members, all of whom apart from Superman himself raises their hand.

Apart from his obvious disapproval and underestimations aside, there remains no real reason why he refused. Ideally, he must understand that everyone needs an opportunity to defend themselves and others, so his skepticism must come from somewhere. Obviously, there may be a slight portion of concern for those he deems not ready to face the dangers of the real world. Yet, I believe his actual concerns lies to the side of Robin- frowning, boring, and shortfused. Superboy has to be a factor, otherwise Superman isn't as caring as he is made out to be, in my opinion. Still, as a team, we can handle the odd problem on our own.

"Very well, then. For the forseeable future, the members of Young Justice will act in unison with the Justice League in supporting... and combat roles." the compassionate Kryptonian announces, although with a critically high level of doubt and wariness.

"Finally." Conner just had to ruin the momentous occasion. "when do we get started?"

"Easy, Conner, we still have to plan out our next moves carefully. Which means that we need the full details, Batman." Robin holds Superboy's metaphorical reins.

"Not too long ago, me and Green Lantern infiltrated a LexCorp charity event, under the suspicion that Luthor is readying to do something in relation to Young Justice. What we found was concerning, to say the least. Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke the Terminator was hired to protect an unknown whereabouts, nicknamed 'Project Solar Dawn' and so far, I havent been able to figure it out. Since solar is in the name, we are assuming it has something to do with Superman... or Superboy." Batman informs, swiftly going over the key details.

"During over missions, we discovered a secretive faction codenamed the Light. Maybe, they have something to do with this." Aqualad speaks.

"Yeah, those guys do seem like the type that would want to end you two. Queen Bee did take interest in Conner, remember?" Artemis sparks up the floodgates, unleashing the correlations and relationships that point directly to Lex Luthor.

"We already guessed that Luthor was involved, but this might be evidence." Miss Martian says to the leaguers, Martian Manhunter in particular.

"Tell me everything you know about this group- members, goals, and research capabilities." Batman commands, bringing up a computer.

"Queen Bee had some serious science hardware in Bialyia, and it was pretty secret when we first arrived. She seemed to be agitated when he confronted her." Kid Flash details Queen Bee.

"Ra's al Ghul has a lot of manpower. More than enough to provide security to any covert research facilities. Other than that, we didn't really know how he slotted into the Light." Superboy was the next team member to reveal clues. "He's also smart enough to provide a location for a lab."

"That 'Grodd' and his cronies were really, really smart. Easily, they could be the brains behind any research or experiment." Artemis nods in realisation.

"Black Manta and some unknown magic user were tough; could be the enforcers." Miss M's brow clenches in thought.

"What about the brain in a glass? Those animals were enhanced, most probably genetically manipulated. He could have provided a template for something." I click my fingers together. "All of these are heading in the same direction- science. A Kryptonian killing virus?"

"We'll figure that out. For now, prepare yourselves and get some rest. It's going to be a long day tommorrow." Batman gestures for us to go with a hand.

Exchanging triumphant, yet deeply concerned glances at each other, we file out towards the showers and guest bedrooms. There is one thing that makes me the most anxious, and that's how truthful Batman was sounding when he said we are having a tough day tommorrow.

 **Hal Jordan/Green Lantern's POV**

"Now that the team is out of the way, what do you really think of them?" Superman commences the usually civil proceedings that follow an important vote, however it sounds slightly cynical of him to say. "Do you think they stand a chance in the field?" he questions, eyes dancing between all of us.

"We stand by what we said, Clark." Wonder Woman affirms, clearly annoyed by the insinuation.

"Yeah, Supes, we do. But, we need to plan this out carefully before we involve them." Barry slowly breathes in, conveying the tense atmosphere.

"Why are you so against the idea anyway? If their missions are something to go by, then they can handle themselves perfectly fine. Their record is spectacular, even compared to our standards." I ask Clark. Whatever is bothering the normally stalwart man must be immense, because he's never opposed something as staunchly as this, and frankly, it's quite disturbing to believe he doesn't have complete faith in the future of the Justice League.

"Because," he sighs, deeply. "They are different from us, friends. We have experienced this life too much for us to seek out any other way of living. These heroes are young... they have a chance to escape this life and live in peace. If the youth is so entrapped by the world's affairs, how can they know what it means to live? We, at least, had time to go through life before all of this violence erupted. I don't want them be changed, because of this life they are choosing so blindly."

In a remarkably rare display of affection, Batman places a hand on Kal's shoulder. "Be that as it may... they _are_ willing to sacrifice their personal lives for the sake of ordinary innocents."

"And that's the reason why we made this, right? To help people who can't help themselves." Barry encourages Superman, reflecting his unofficial status in the league as the chief peptalker. Whenever you need a quick motivation or inspiring quote, Barry Allen is the one to approach.

"I thought we made it to get an awesome space satellite." I joke, but no laughter follows. "Tough crowd."

"Since we have already established a clear pattern detailing Luthor's involvement, we need to act decisively to counter the growing threat. Using the computer, I managed to piece together potential locations of a research facility. Although, we need to split up and destroy these sites in small groups. My suggestion is dividing us between the team members." Batman briefs.

"Like... one of us teams up with a Young Justice member?" I ask.

"Yes. However, to make the absolute most efficiency we can, splitting up powers and varying the groups is optimal. Which means that I want Flash with Robin- speed with hacking capabilities. Superman, you take Miss Martian for her telepathy skills, and Green Lantern takes Artemis and Superboy- versatility with marksmanship and raw power. Finally, Manhunter gets Kid Flash and I will fight with Aqualad. That leaves..." he speedily runs through the setup.

"Me with Kyle. All the better for me to keep an eye on him." Wonder Woman finishes off the speech.

"Good, are we all agreed?" Superman asks, however none of us openly object. "Now, this task will not be easy, of that I am certain."

"On that, every one of us agrees. Lex has always kept his operations well guarded, both from the public and unwanted visitors." I say.

"Perhaps, the smaller groups will be ideal for avoiding attention from LexCorp security." Martian Manhunter hopefully points out.

"It's a possibility, although many of us aren't suited for covert espionage compared to some among us." Superman nods to Batman as though we didn't already know. "For the time being, we will stick to our plan- search and destroy, seizing as much information as you can." he continues, exuding the confidence we normally value as his most crucial aspect.

"This meeting is officially adjourned, get some rest. Something tells me that Lex has a surprise planned out for us." Batman announces, already striding out of the room towards the zeta-tube.

"Where has all this mess come from?" the Flash asks, bewildered. "One moment we were cruising along, well on our way to securing peace and now this? Will our troubles ever end?"

"That, Barry, is best left to the gods." Diana warmly smiles, becoming the next founding member to exit.

Despite the confusion and bewilderment in my old friend's tone, he understands the answer. The truth is... none of us genuinely can see a future where we actually achieve the goals we laid down all that time ago. Back when we first met each other, battling Darkseid and his path of annihilation, it was amazing that there were others out there that believe in the same things as us. Yet, a part of me believes the novelty has worn off and we are facing our biggest, most dangerous rival. A crisis of the heart.

"Come on, BA. Best go home to Iris before she freaks out... again." I slap him on the back, making him startle.

"Thanks for the reminder, old pal." he shoots a rapid one finger salute before zooming off to the zeta-tube, reducing our numbers by one.

"Hal, is it okay if I speak with you for a second... in private?" Kal gestures for me to follow him to the leisure room. Exchanging curious looks with Martian Manhunter, I scurry after the man of steel, almost slipping and smashing my forehead on a wall.

Once caught up with him, he wearily sighs and motions for me to sit down. Gratefully seating my rear onto the couch, Kal does the same at the other end. _Something is warning me that this will be about my particularly annoying apprentice._

"This is about Kyle Rayner as you might have guessed." he starts. "Is there anyway that he can be removed safely from his rings? Not forcing them off, but replacing them with another... less hostile emotion?" _Okay... not the way I was expecting this to go._

"Technically, the rage power ring is synched to his heart, comparable to a life support. I have heard rumours that a hope wielder can remove the impurities caused by the rage ring, but there might not be accuracy to it." I respond.

"A few nights ago, I has this... strange dream about a creature completely coloured in shining white, and it told me to help him 'ascend to emotion' and replace the rage within his heart. At first, I thought that it was just a dream, but when Kyle spoke to me earlier, I heard the same voice whispering in my head." Clark describes a vivid sounding dream, his face portraying his confusion.

"I'm not going to sugarcoat it, Clark: that's weird and messed up, but I believe you. For starters, I'll take a look in the databases, see what I can uncover."

"Thanks, Hal. To be honest, I was scared to bring this to you. I thought that you would laugh in my face and say that I'm losing it. I should put more trust in you, as a friend and an ally."

"No problem, Supes!" I yawn, stretching across the sofa in exhaustion. "Do you think we can pull this off?"

"Absolutely. If there was one thing that has remained with all of us from the beginning, it's each other. Together, nothing will defeat us."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Thank you all for taking the time to read this! The next chapter will be up on Friday... I hope.**

 **Since you guys always ask me questions, how about I return the favour?**

 **If Young Justice is renewed for season 3, what would be the one thing you would love for it to include? E.g. New characters, and etc!**

 **Signing out, YJ style.**


	27. Amazonian Fury

**A/N**

 **Hello! Quite a few people have approached me recently about collaberations, requests, and such. I will try to get them made, but I can't promise how long it will take unfortunately. However, I am definitely going to have a crack at ideas sent my way from you, the reader!**

 **Be sure to check out Nick Striker's crossfire as it's awesome, so far!**

 **8,000 views! 67 reviews! 34 followers and 24 favouritors! Amazing!**

 **Reviews**

 **Elvisfonz23: I would go for a character that the audience would adore as replacement to Wally. But, I have a feeling that the Wall-man will come back.**

 **Griffin13: Me too! And Starfire! Not too fussed about Cyborg, though. He wasn't as interesting in the comics and the Teen Titans series.**

 **Guest: Fair enough. The character development and story arcs were stunted by the size of the group. Maybe, make episodes longer and tend to focus more on the originals? But, it sure did feel too 'crowded' a lot of the time. Nightwing needed to be involved more! You agree?**

 **Jack: No ship spoilers, I'm afraid. Although... two have been hinted at various points in the story. One is clear and the other is less so, but still present.**

 **Kyle needs to be in YJ! It needs a lantern!**

* * *

 **Chapter 27: Amazonian Fury... And Otherwise**

 **Kyle Rayner's POV**

 **October 17th, 7:00AM- Ground site Beta, Coast City**

Astonishingly, it turns out that all it takes is a mild threat to Superman for everybody to run around in circles, screaming and laughing their heads off. Joking, because that was how I reacted when I was volunteered to join up with Wonder Woman. Seriously, seriousness combined with a body more muscular than mine don't mix too well with me.

Batman, being the no-nonsense type of dude he is, informed me directly after waking up at eight o'clock sharp. Waiting outside of my bedroom- which had already been defiled by Batman's presence- was the Amazon herself, face composed into nothing- emotion, tenseness, or otherwise.

Gracefully and with a gentle touch, she _shoved_ me towards the zeta-tube, following closely behind like a guard dog. Never have I felt more of a prisoner than I did in those short moments. And apparently, Wonder Woman is my temporary probation officer.

Instead of soaring through the bright skies with wind rolling over my cheeks, washing away the morning tiredness, I'm on a... subway, of all things. The princess was adamant that we go incognito until we reach our intended destination, which is tougher than it sounds.

Three times- I counted- she has verbally assaulted random people who even dared to brush past her to get somewhere. 'Men' and some obscure Greek words were volleyed at the intruders as though they imprisoned her rights.

"No respect." she mutters as another commuter brushes past her shoulder. With the current outfit she is wearing, anyone would confuse her with a normal woman instead of the warrior princess she actually is- glasses and all. "Does anyone ever use manners?"

"Well, WW... if you had to say sorry to every person you bumped into on a crowded subway, you would get tired of it too." I heavily sigh, rolling my eyes.

"Please, call me Diana." she corrects, however the blank expression on her face makes it difficult to assume the name as real.

"I would give you my name, but that's the downside of having three of us. Got to identify us somehow, right?" I joke. Her face doesn't register any signs of amusement.

"You need to improve your humour, Kyle, I've seen Minotaurs make better jests than you." Diana insults, a thin smile across her face. "But... it's refreshing, in any case. Very few heroes maintain their sense of humour throughout their journey. Once upon a time, Batman was prone to making the odd comment."

"The Bat made jokes?" I snort, skeptical.

"Yes. Dark and disturbing jokes are still jokes." her smile eventually fulls out, making her appear less formidable than she really is.

Finally grinding to a halt with an audible screech, we patiently wait our turn to leave, observing the scramble as they hop off the transport. The rare yelp or wince can be heard as someone steps on another person's toes or otherwise. Funnily enough, Wonder Woman also seems amused by the scene, as though imagining the same scramble on Themyscira. Amazon warriors turning into rabid and primal animals before your very eyes.

Once the temporary chaos died down, me and Diana amusingly trudge off without a peep of sound compared to just a few short seconds before.

Heading to the set of turnstiles before the stairs to the exit, Diana almost trips over a loose piece of flooring, causing me to break out in a fit of laughter. "What are you laughing about? I hope that you almost fall over a loose rock." she frowns, breaking the smile I placed on her.

"Imagine the headlines all around the world: Wonder Woman... felled by floor." I chuckle, restraining my volume to a good amount. It would be a disaster if someone overheard our conversation and realised that Diana is Wonder Woman. Reporters would be frothing around the mouth for a shot.

"Kyle, you do realise that falling over can't kill me?" she sighs, making her way through the turnstiles roughly, nearly ripping off the bars.

"What if there was a sharp piece of rock? That would kill you, obviously." I smirk, following her with a little more grace in my step. Well, as graceful you can be when inserting a card into a hole and nudging your way past metal bars that often smack into your unsuspecting knees. "And after that, I'll be left on my lonesome for the remainder of this mission."

"That's a very cynical view of things, Kyle. You should try to see the brighter side of things." she waits for me to join alongside her before continuing up the stairs. "Besides, it will help to have a positive mind for the battle ahead."

"Yeah... having a 'positive mind' when it's constantly polluted by fear is tough."

"Is it that bad? I have heard from Hal that it would break even the strongest of minds by feeding and amplifying the user's terror." Diana asks, a twinge of genuine concern laced among the steely tone of determination that can be usually found whilst she speaks. Truly, she is a remarkable person.

"It takes a lot to hold back the emotional storm back, but it could be worse, right? I could have been forced to serve that slime ball Sinestro in his Sinestro Corp."

With that, the conversation became too deep to carry on and so, it halted. Instead, the bright morning sun invades me eye sockets the instant that we emerge from the final step, unveiling the modern jungle named Coast City. Diana gulps. Something whispers to me that she rarely ventures out into the world of man, because to every other person it's a typical, boring sight.

"Alright, Diana, where is the target? I've not been here often, but I can figure out a way to get there." I ask, however she refuses to answer and immediately tumbles towards a café straight across from where we are.

"Kal has told me about these. He has told me about the wonders of 'hot chocolate'" she gasps, and before I could respond she tightly grabs hold of my hand and leads me to the café. Hopelessly, I try to undo her strong grip, to no avail. Apparently, I have become only a limp toy to her as she doesn't notice my struggling. "Come on, Kyle, we have time to waste."

Deflecting the curious stares the civilians are shooting at me with an awkward smile, I think about how seriously wrong this looks- a sixteen year old literally being dragged along with one hand, on the verge of looking like a kidnapping. _Nothing to see here,_ I force a smile as I start to lose all feeling in the hand.

Unknowingly destroying all sense of pain in my hand with excitement, she forces me into the café, hurriedly sitting down on a leather couch that encircles the right hand corner as though the apocalypse is among us, and those seats would be used to save the world from utter destruction. Exagerrations aside, she practically flops onto the leather furniture, releasing the painful grip she held over my poor, human hand.

"Damn it!" I curse whilst following her lead and sitting on the same couch, but opposite, with a table dividing us. After examining my deathly pale hand, I want some form of physical barrier between her and me.

"What's the matter?" she unbelievably asks, before her eyes drift to my hand- clutched closely by my other- and they go wide. "I'm so sorry, Kyle." she apologises, reaching to grab and inspect the hand. Seeing as though it would be futile to resist her concern, which would end in more pain, I warily allow her to reach across and take the hand in hers. "How did I do this?"

"It's not that bad, really. Besides, you didn't know how hard you were clutching my hand." I watch her flip the hand over, her eyes carefully inspecting it.

"That is not an excuse, Kyle, I should have known better than lose control over myself. What if you weren't a friend?" she shakes her head.

"Friends? We've only spoken once or twice since I started YJ."

"Yes, I would say that we are friends. Although we haven't spoken as often as I would have liked, you are a... friend, of sorts. We all have to get along for us to protect the world." Diana counters, letting go of the hand, so I slowly draw it back. "No damage to your hand, luckily. The ring must have done something about that as any other human would be sporting a broken hand." she gives her analysis, though unnecessary.

Breaking our conversation- albeit simply doing her job- a waitress approaches with a small frown on her face. "What do you need?"

Since Wonder Woman's face is mired in stark confusion and anxiety, I decide to take the initiative and help her escape this awful social situation. "Two hot chocolates please, as many topping as you offer." The waitress takes off without another word leaving her mouth.

"Uhh... thank you for that, Kyle." Diana shows an awkward smile.

"I don't mean to be rude or anything, but do you do this often? I mean, going out into the civilian world and stuff?" I ask, tapping fingers on my knees.

"No. These days, I have more important things to do: running the Justice League, holding back the various threats that we encounter, and even refusing letter that are asking me to return to Themyscira, until I am done here. Leisure time is not existent for me." she huffs, finally showing her weariness. Having countless years of experience in battles and stress must be immensely tough, even for an Amazonian princess.

"I know the feeling- spending so much attention to your duty that you neglect other things, and look where that got me. I'm an emotional mess." I clench my hands to stop myself from jittering. "Take my advice, Diana: Get out there whilst you can as the next time you fight... could be the last time. Or not. Just saying."

"For such a hopeless and sometimes annoying teenager, you have a wisdom that many others lack." she smiles.

"Yeah... I knew that." I smile back. Diana lets out a chuckle, but instantly recomposes herself afterwards. "It's not unnatural to have fun, you know?" I comment on the rapid recovery that would put Batman or Robin to shame.

"For me, it is. When the whole world counts on you to defend it, happiness is a luxury that I can't afford." she gazes out of the window longingly.

"Happiness isn't a luxury, but a necessity in these dire times. It's what separates us from people like Luthor." I correct her, making her attention shift back to me. Our eyes catch each other for a second, however she swiftly moves them elsewhere when the waitress returns with the drinks.

Silently basking in the glory of hot chocolate, the various expressions that are appearing on Diana's face gives me the impression that she is thoroughly satisfied with the fairly modern beverage. "Kal was right... it is good... although, nothing compares to the sweet tickle of nectar." she eventually reviews, placing down the cup before I even took a third sip. I guess the Amazonian durability also extends to extremely hot drinks.

"I'm marking this day down in the history books where the Wonder Woman said 'sweet tickle'." I chuckle to myself, almost splurting out another gulp that had only just entered my mouth.

"Hurry up, Kyle, we don't have long until the others get into position." she says. Annoyingly, she proceeded to stare at me whilst I drink the rest as fast any human can go, her eyes following the cup being brought to my mouth and back.

After a few precious minutes of gulping down the seething liquid, steam literally bellowing out with every breath afterwards, I triumphantly place the cup down. Without paying, Diana strides out of the café, dumping the responsibility to pay onto me, the minor. _The Justice League needs to start giving me an allowance. Hal won't pay for me forever,_ I inwardly sigh, shoving notes onto the table and zooming after Wonder Woman with a brisk walk, the energy from the drink empowering my legs.

Catching up to Diana, who needless to say didn't even acknowledge that I am behind her, I synchronise into her fast, constant walk and travel at her side. _Wait a second... how many people can say that they walked next to the Wonder Woman?_ the though was abruptly interrupted by one of my rings- I can't differentiate which- who informed me of a rapidly approaching lamp post, which I strafed to avoid and resumed the journey at my companion's side.

"Did your ring tell you about that? I was about to tell you as you weren't concentrating. It's intriguing how the power rings are very similar to that of the Green Lantern Corps." she asks, interest and thought on her voice.

"Well, I think it was the Sinestro ring as I haven't heard of the rage ring having safety protocols. I think that the Red Lanterns don't even have a universal translator like some of the others do- they have that 'war is everything' attitude." I answer, fiddling with rings whilst speaking.

"We will need that when we assault the LexCorp base. Remember though, I have your back." she says.

"That's... assuring, Diana, but are we even sure that it's a real target? Batman did explicitly say 'potential'."

"With the feeling that I am receiving, I am almost certain that we are the unlucky ones."

 **Bruce Wayne/Batman's POV- One hour later**

"Batman to all available strike teams, what is your status?" I speak into the official Justice League communicator, Aqualad lurking the background, pacing back and forth.

"Flash here- Rob's and I have arrived to an empty warehouse and further inspection yielded nothing. This place is bare." comes the first response. A part of me is glad that they weren't the ones to encounter LexCorp as Robin is the second half of the duo. Although I know he can handle himself- extensive training saw to that- I still allow myself to be protective on the occasions that I can afford to.

"Same here with us, Batman. Superkid and Artemis are just reconning the area again, now." Green Lantern is the next to report in. In the distance of the comm, I can barely make out the ravings of someone in Hal's area, with one sentence being prominent- 'stop calling me that!'. "Geez, okay, I'll stop." Hal huffs over the comm.

"KF, or Kid Flash here! OMG, this is so cool." he enters in a hushed squeal, acting altogether like a three-year old. "Batman, this position is empty, I repeat over, this position is empty. Wait... don't you guys always say that?"

"What are you doing with a league communicator?" I sternly demand from Kid Flash.

"Martian Manhunter said for me to report in whilst he looks around. Can you believe he said he'll be quicker than me?" he responds.

Choosing to ignore the response for now and punish later, I act as though I didn't hear his words. "Superman?"

"If a LexCorp facility exists, it's all on Wonder Woman and Kyle. Everyone converge on their position, if their target ends up as real, help would be necessary, Superman out." Kal-El brings about the final report, albeit with severely less enthusiasm than the others were delivered.

"Get there as fast as you can without being detected by the populace, Batman out." I turn my attention to the awaiting Aqualad. "Are you ready?"

"Yes. Let's do this."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Thanks again for reading my devoted and much appreciated viewers. Before you go and do your own things, I have some things to say.**

 **Firstly, it's been an honour to provide you with this series, and I hope you will carry on to the sequel. Believe me, it will be tonnes better! Or, I hope it will be anyway.**

 **Secondly, are you excited for the Justice League movie!? Have you all seen the awesome costumes!? Absolute bliss!**

 **And last: Have you got any questions about the Superboy standalone? Review the questions, or PM me!**


	28. Does This Thing Have An Off-Switch?

**A/N**

 **So, I did say to you people that another chapter will come out on Sunday... and here it is!**

 **8,500 views! 70 reviews! 35 followers and 27 favouritors!**

 **Reviews**

 **Elvisfonz23: Superkid! To the rescue!**

 **Guest: Wow... I didn't actually think someone would notice it... well done! As for the rings, no spoilers are given.**

 **MoustachedCat: It was cool how they have managed to translate the costumes into real life, isn't it?** **As for the SB standalone, here is the summary/description:**

 **The years is 2045, and the world is in an era of peace and prosperity. They have even begun to call this period of time the 'Prime Era'. For the past 20 years, one hero arised from the ashes of an annihilated Justice League. Kon-El, otherwise known to the adoring world as... Superman Prime, the mightiest hero ever. When the first real threat appears since all those years ago, can Earth's final defender truimph? Or will he fail?**

 **What do you guys think? It will include a lot of sadness, but inspiring moments as well.**

* * *

 **Chapter 28: Does this thing have an off switch?**

 **Kyle Rayner's POV**

 **Ground Site Beta, an hour later**

"Well... at least we can see what's going to kill us, right?" I comment as we enter into the brightly lit warehouse, which reminds me of old superhero movies. Literally, every bad guy always used broken down warehouses for some odd reason. However, Lex Luthor isn't an idiot; the facility will be hidden inside this place if it's here. "Should I start to search the area or should you? It will take a while, so we could take turns."

"Grow some spine, warrior." was Wonder Woman's curt response, placing her undivided attention in front of us.

"Warrior? There is a large difference between ex-intergalactic space cop and an Amazonian, _female_ warrior. One, I'm not that good with weapons other than the power rings, so if you want that, Kilowog or Hal is your man. If... Kilowog is a man... gross."

"Please, Kyle, would you stop talking and focus on the mission ahead of us." Diana silences me, also putting a hand on my chest and preventing me from going any further, halting herself as well. "Why haven't we encountered any resistance? Lex wouldn't leave the exterior undefended." she adds, stepping directly onto a loose slab a flooring, for the second time.

Remarkably, the piece depressed into the ground. _Okay... doesn't that usually signal some sort of trap? As in the destructive kind?_

True to my thought, three turrets mounted onto the walls at opposite angles appear, making Diana curse in Greek or some other ancient language. Standing firmly on the ground, she raises her bracelets in a defensive stance, however, it would be impossible for Wonder Woman to deflect them of all from varying angles. So, I take the wise thing to do and construct a bubble around us both, protecting us for the time being, just as the turrets begin firing on all cylinders, bullets bouncing off the construct.

"What are you doing?" she asks, confused.

"You were about to be skewered by the two over there as well, princess." I point out the other two, to which she seems grateful for me shielding her.

"Thank you, I did not notice." she sighs.

Pointing the golden ring at one of the turrets, I focus all of the fear I have been building up and release it in a direct blast of energy, destroying it easily. Doing the same to the other two in rapid succession, maybe it was a good idea to pent up my emotions after all.

Lowering the shield for both of us to move around, Wonder Woman immediately starts surveying the floor for any irregularities or traps. Thinking that two pairs of eyes are better than one, I join her in the search, beginning from the far left corner of the room.

"Aren't we like... wasting time by doing this? They could have finished Solar Dawn by now, whatever the project is about." I ask whilst carefully bending down and touching a broken off piece of rock, wary of it being another lethal trap. "And, I'm almost certain that it's not going to be good for anyone."

"Best to be careful instead of springing a trap that we can't handle on our own, Kyle." she shoots back.

"Honestly, I doubt that there is too much that can defeat Wonder Woman _and_ a lantern." I straighten my back, hearing it crack from the stretch.

Diana finishes up her side of the room. "That may be so, but there is _always_ something that will be able to beat you, both mentally and physically." she corrects my assumption, a thin smile on her face. "We're done here. Let's go see what Luthor has going on here."

Tiptoeing towards the corridor opposite the entrance, we never take our eyes off scanning mode, believing it to never be that easy. Surprisingly, we reached the end of the empty corridor without springing another ambush out of nowhere.

"Dead end." Wonder Woman states what I can clearly see for myself- a wall.

"Well... considering we were supposed to find an overwhelming impenetrable vault, I would say that was easy."

"Verbal command recognised." a female voice similar to the zeta-tube's speaks out from all around us. "'That was easy'- facility alarm triggered. Green Lantern present." just as it finishes the sentence, I find it remarkable how Lex Luthor would guarantee Hal would say that after running into no traps. Sure, he would more than likely say it as I have just done, yet something tells me that Luthor shouldn't know that much about him. _The mole!_ I mentally yell at myself for forgetting we had a traitor.

"Quick, we must find Project Solar Dawn before they can destroy our move it." Wonder Woman orders, smashing through the wall in front of us and running off.

"Hey! Wait for me, too!"

 **Bruce Wayne/Batman's POV- Meanwhile**

Gathering amongst the amassing group of heroes of all ages, genders, and races, I make my way to the head of the group inside the warehouse, aware of the mangled pieces of machinery on the floor. Awaiting me is Superman, arms patiently crossed and eyes trained forwards.

"See anything yet?" I ask, standing beside him.

"There's a portal beyond that hole in the wall. Where it leads to, I haven't got a clue." he curtly answers. "Shall we? I'm guessing Wonder Woman and Kyle have already entered."

"They should have waited for support." I scowl at the foolishness displayed. "Unless... there was no choice; they were rushed by something."

"That means we must get a move on." Kal starts to step towards the hole in the wall opposite our position, signalling for the rest of the group to follow. Feet begin to sound as they hit the floor, due to the limited space for any flight or super-speed.

Apprehensively following the lead of Clark, I fit through the hole and witness for myself the portal he spoke of. Visibly red and swirling around the direct center, it appears to be magical at a first glance. Also noticing the aura around it, Superman briefly stutters, however soon plucks up the courage to enter.

Without a second thought or the slightest hint of hesitation, I walk straight through the portal. Comparable to the effects of the zeta-tubes, my head pains for a moment as it adjusts to the new environment- hot, humid, and altogether like a desert. _Bialyia, I shouldn't be surprised._ I muse, not as confused as Clark appears to be. His head swivels around, searching for any clues.

"Uhhh... I though we never had to come here again." Artemis sighs, appearing out of the portal. "Bialyia, home of the power crazy and zero rights."

"Interesting, indeed. This portal is supposed to lead to a LexCorp facility, not Queen Bee's land." Martian Manhunter comments.

"I think... we've been tricked." Robin suggests, saying out loud what I was thinking.

It was only a matter of time that the traitor would make a direct move against us, although the vital question remains: What is the next move? Obviously, we are located in Bialyia, so what is the traitor going to do next. No doubt, it will not be a warm welcome to Queen Bee's territory. _We need to fortify ourselves and outplay the deceiver first, then we need to out the traitor to prevent any further setbacks._ I think, noticing how everyone is staring at me, watching for what to do next.

First, I need to uncover the mole within Young Justice. Three candidates stand out the most, but perhaps others might be investigated as I have already analysed these three before. So far, Kyle, Artemis, Robin and Conner are excluded. That leaves Miss Martian, Kid Flash and Aqualad. Miss Martian- innocent and sweet, yet could easily be a spy. Martians are notorious for having multiple family members, so it wouldn't be too far of a stretch to say that she could be hiding something. However, she is not a traitor. Her close connection to Conner would prohibit her from willingly placing him in danger.

On the other hand, Kid Flash could never be seen as a traitor, which is why he could be. Smart, resourceful and has a possibility of holding a grudge against the Justice League due to envy over his limited relationship with the Speed Force. And yet, he has a good heart, always doing the right thing. He's not the mole.

Of course, this leaves Aqualad- cool, calm, but... distant from the rest. What could turn such a stalwart hero into a force for evil?

All of a sudden, the answer comes into the light. "Aqualad?"

"Wait... where is Kaldur?" M'gann asks, bewildered and confused.

Without turning around and facing the young team, I respond to the question. "He's the mole. He must have slipped away from the group when we first entered the warehouse."

"Mole? What mole!?" Superboy angrily demands.

"Batman, you don't think that Kaldur is... _the_ traitor, do you?" Robin asks. The sadness in his voice almost breaks my heart.

"Someone, please explain what's going on? You are talking about a spy whilst we are in the middle of a desert." Hal implores.

"I agree. Are you saying that Aqualad was a traitor?" the Flash says.

"Yes, I am. He was the only option and his absence proves his guilt. Recently, I was trying to dig up information on the Young Justice members in an attempt to highlight potential suspects. Whilst doing so, I uncovered that Kaldur's biological father is Black Manta, which was kept a secret by Aquaman. I'm assuming that Manta is apart of this 'light', Robin?"

"Didn't we run into him when saving Queen Mera? The guy dressed in black with the weird helmet." Miss Martian looks to her team.

"Ugh... lemon head." Artemis replies. "That was Kyle's name by the way, and _not_ mine."

"Where is the goof, anyway?" Conner steps up and asks, returning our focus to the missing heroes.

Before anyone could make a suggestion, Wonder Woman crashes into the hill above us, grunting upon the harsh landing. Without further words, feet scuffle against the sand as we clamber over the crest of the hill, rushing to the stirring Amazon.

Having super-speed, Superman is the first to reach her. "Wonder Woman! Are you okay!?" he exclaims, gently helping her up.

"I'm fine. However, Kyle is still down there by himself, fighting off enemies- Black Adam, Joker- I can't name the rest, they ambushed us too quick. Last I saw, Kyle was sent through some ruined walls in the oasis." she pushes off Kal's hand and points in the direction. "He'll need some help."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Once again, I'm very sorry for this shorter chapter but I struggled to find the energy to do the little bit more I had planned. It won't happen again, I promise.**


	29. In Brightest Day

**A/N**

 **8,900 views! 74 reviews! 27 favouritors and 36 followers! Almost there people!**

 **Okay... I have one grievance that needs to get out of the way. Several times, I have been annoyed by people (in general and not here) asking if Lanterns have super strength/speed, and everyone else going 'No! Only their constructs are strong!'**

 **Lantern's have an aura around them that does things, like breath in space and survive massive damage-etc. Believe it or not, that same aura can be channeled to grant super strength and such, dependant on the conscious thought and emotion of the user. However, it's rarely done as constructs are a lot easier and cover larger amounts of space.**

 **Proof? In the DCUO intro, Black Adam grabs Hal's ring hand and Hal is shown to almost stalemate Adam in strength, but eventually loses. Hal also has done this in the GL animated series and against Mongul.**

 **Rant=Over... sorry for that. Have no idea why I did it.**

 **Reviews**

 **Elvisfonz23: It's always the highlight of my day to hear your approval, friend. I hope you enjoy this one as well!**

 **Guest 1: I can't wait to get the 'Man of Prime' underway for all of you.**

 **Guest 2: Cliff Hanger for the win! Your praise is much appreciated and I hope you stick around for the future projects I have planned.**

 **Guest 3: Nope, not bad. In fact, the idea that you are enjoying Kyle is awesome! He's not as good as the actual DC Kyle Rayner, though.**

 **Just so you know, there may be some slight PIS in this chapter. (Plot Induced Stupidity)**

* * *

 **Chapter 29: In Brightest Day...**

 **Kyle Rayner's POV**

Roughly being launched through another of the stone pillars inhabiting the oasis, the standing ruin collapses to the ground on top of me, having been broken in half by my body. "Get off me before that weirdo comes for round two." I blast off the rock with a concentrated energy blast of rage. "Where is that crafty immortal, anyway?"

"Ah, here you are, lantern. You must learn to keep that mouth shut." the deep, accented voice of Black Adam sounds out, accompanied by the man hovering slightly off the ground.

"You would think that an immortal tyrant have better things to do than attack a minor, apparently, they don't." I shoot back at the magically empowered, thousands of years old man. However, like all magic it can be reversed, if only I can figure out a way. "Why did you ever get picked to hold those powers, bro? Just look at you: power crazy and has a self-righteous complex."

"This is what you 'heroes' do not understand." Adam shakes his head, disappointed in some way. "With these powers, I can bring true peace to the world, where no-one fears crime. The other members feared coming here after thinking about it and showed their true cowardice."

I snort with laughter, getting up to my feet. "By enslaving everyone under your rule? Not. Worth. It."

"I do not expect a mere child to understand how cruel this place is in reality. Happily, I would sacrifice anyone's freedom for peace and justice." he counters, slowly floating closer to me. Just as slow, I edge back inch by inch.

"That's some messed up code of honour you have came up with, Adam. I'm sure the Guardians of the Universe would joyfully share stories with you about 'justice', because as far as I checked, you would make excellent buddies to each other." I remark, inwardly amused by the look of contempt on Adam's face.

"I have had my fun with you, child. But... I'm afraid that your journey in life ends now." with that last villainous sentence, he catapults forward with his fist brought, preparing back for a ground shaking punch that he can deliver. Although, I did expect this from him as the heavy hitters- Superman, Shazam and Black Adam- usually tend to assault directly from the front using their overwhelming speed and strength. So, I was prepared for it.

Immediately rolling to the side and constructing a wall where I was stood with a crimson boxing glove sticking out of it, he smashes through the wall, but not before the glove smacks him in the face. Momentarily confused at the impact, he swiftly regains his composure and turns to the side for another attack.

Forming a shield in front of me, Adam calmly strolls up to it and breaks straight through without any effort. _Damn. I need to work on my constructs._ "You are incredibly innovative lantern, but your inexperience with the ring will cost you dearly. Did your friends not tell you how to concentrate?"

"Did yours tell you that you have elf ears?" I retort, however the villain appears to be unfazed at the insult. "Not even a frown. Damn, you seriously don't know when to laugh."

Black Adam continues to calmly close the distance between us. "I will laugh when you are dead."

Rushing me head on before my brain can react to the sudden speed, pain racks my chest and the view in front of me zooms out as I go soaring backwards. Landing harshly on my back, the feeling quickly dampens as though painkillers have swarmed into my system. _Thank you for the auto-shield, ring, much appreciated._

Being heaved back into the air with a firm hand around my throat, a headache tears through my head, signalling that the oxygen supply is being constricted by Black Adam. Focusing on the triumphant smirk on his face, I just have the consciousness left to imagine a train running into him from the side, causing a construct to slam into him. Choking slightly, I have enough time to think of another plan of action, keeping the train in the back of my head.

 _So... he's strong, fast, and seemingly more ruthless than any of the other people I've took on before. Got to find some way to exploit that._ I think, nervously looking to the direction that the train smashed Black Adam into. _How about another ploy? Keep him distracted so I can gather my thoughts. I'm smart!_

Creating a mental picture of the team in the expanses of my creative mind, I make them wait in the background until the most effective moment arises to strike. As expected, Adam eventually breaks the train and I can see him casually flying towards me without any real seriousness. _He's toying with me;knows that I can't beat him without help. Not overconfidence, but fact._

Directing two of my illusion constructs- Conner and Aqualad- to intercept, Superboy appears out of nowhere, leaping straight at Black Adam with his trademark roar, his skin glowing ever so slightly a golden yellow. Here's hoping that my enemy doesn't have superb eyesight as well as unmatchable, raw power.

Yet, Adam swats the constructed clone out of the air without even acknowledging him, continuing to cruise towards me. From this distance, I can just make out a smirk adorned on the elder's face, signalling that something bad is about to happen.

Suddenly, my head spirals into chaos as a loud, piercing, agonising shriek enters my ears. All possible thought gets drowned out by the sheer volume of the repeating sound, negating any further avenues of construction, apart from auto-fire, but there's no way that I can activate it with a thought due to the swirling migraine currently placed in my head. I drop to my knees with my hands clasped around my head.

"I told you not to mess around with the child, Adam, he's not worth our precious time. Your abilities are best suited to deal with Wonder Woman." another accented voice speaks, the screeching continuing on without end. Currently, the only thing that's keeping me sane is the protection gained from the Sinestro power ring.

"This one is mine, Count." supposedly Adam returns. "Let me finish the brat."

The ground beneath my knees vibrate and shake with the force of his steps as he approaches my paralysed body. Then, my right hand- holding the Sinestro ring- is forcibly removed from the side of my skull and immediately it feels like a bus is driving over it. Feeling the bones in my hand break, even more pain ripples through it, causing me to cry out in pain.

"Kyle!" someone yells my name.

"Look who it is! The 'Man of Steel' and his pets." Adam chuckles to himself. _Get ready to see stars, Adam._

Seizing the momentary attention shift to my desperate advantage, I ball up still kneeling and release pure rage energy into the air, feeding off someone nearby. A numbing throbbing takes over from the excrutiating, mind scrambling sound, allowing me to recover enough to fly upwards and get out of the danger zone.

 **Dick Grayson/Robin's POV**

"Kyle!" the yell coming from Superman accompanies us as we round the hill to see our peer yelp with some guy clutching his hand roughly. A retort from said bad guy, along with another villainous looking character standing close by is enough to send all of us into immediate action mode. A small blast of crimson red emerges from Kyle's body, enough to startle the two villains and allow him to soar upwards, away from his captors.

Charging forwards towards Adam, Superman leaves the other to the entire group. Yet, Wonder Woman diverts from the majority to assist Superman with the magical monster.

"Robin! Artemis! Evasive actions and support! Miss Martian, check on your teammate! Rest of you, split up and search for any more! The Count is mine!" Batman barks out orders on the move, already with hands at the ready to unleash batarangs on Count Vertigo.

Following his orders, I flip off the ground from a handstand position and land on a half-broken archway, feet landing perfectly on the edge. Artemis also does a similar move, instead landing on a pillar for an elevated position to fire from, although her landing was slightly less balanced as mine; perks of being a Grayson, I suppose.

Before Count Vertigo could fully raise his hand to his cane, maybe reaching for a weapon of some kind, a batarang knocks and embeds into the Count's cane, making it drop to the ground in shock. With his potential arnament disposed of, Batman swiftly closes the distance, bounding a few steps at a time.

Sharing an awestruck glance with Artemis, I quickly pull out one of my own throwable devices in the event that support is needed, however unlikely that seems.

Unsuprisingly, the supposed Count gets his backside handed to him once toe-to-toe with the Dark Knight. Not many out there would even last a respectable minute against the ruthless style of Batman's martial arts- fast, powerful and vicious. Maybe, that's the reason why he's so feared by practically everyone, including me. Coming from someone who is constantly on the receiving end of the 'good' half of Batman- Bruce Wayne- he can severely creep me out.

In the amount of time that it took Batman to handle Vertigo, Superman and Wonder Woman have managed to pin down Black Adam against the desert floor, allowing the Flash to unleash a flurry of super-speed punches into the villain's undefended face. Whether it was a hundred strikes or ten, they held enough power to shake Adam visibly. Finishing off the cruel being is Martian Manhunter, thinning out his fingers and probing inside the head of Adam, abruptly knocking him out.

"What did he just do?" I incredulously mutter to myself, jumping down from the arch.

Heading over to where the group is forming around the twitching rag doll of Count Vertigo, Wally reaches there first. "Hey... how did you do that? It was awesome!"

"Honestly, I have no idea. I thought that I would give it a try." the Martian replies, quite amusingly. "You appear to be rubbing off on me, Kid Flash."

"Status report." Batman commands to all of us. Gracefully, Kyle floats down and lands among the gathered heroes, heavily favouring his right hand.

"Well, where to start... those two were waiting for us the moment we stepped through that portal-thing, so it's safe to say that they were somehow expecting us. Although, I did manage to glean from Adam that they are the only two that went forward with whatever plan was rolling along." Kyle answers, occasionally wincing between words.

"You okay, kid?" the Flash asks, concerned.

"I'm fine, for the most part. Apart from when Adam annihilated every bone in my hand, according to the medical analysis of the ring. It's dampening the pain, but it still hurts... a lot." he responds, still smiling despite his injuries.

"Construct a cast around the hand and shift the ring to the other hand." Green Lantern advises, a nostalgic tone in his voice. "I had to do that back in the day a couple of times."

Then, Kyle does as instructed and forms an exo-skeleton over the hand, with his golden ring flying to his other hand, inserting next to his other rogue power ring. _Even with the amount of times I have seen him use those rings, it still gives me the creeps._

"I believe that the main cause of you being ambushed is due to Aqualad's defection." Batman carries on, ignoring the previous conversation as though it never occured.

"Just wait until I get to him." Conner cracks his knuckles, earning him an odd look from Superman. "Because of him, my friends are getting hurt."

"Friends? More like... family." Artemis corrects him. For once, the clone actually smiles.

"Focus!" the bat halts the conversation in it's budding tracks. "I'm picking up signals from north-east of here- odd signals. Lanterns, transport the people that can't fly or run!" he orders.

 **Kyle Rayner's POV**

Obeying Batman's direct, albeit vague orders at the same time, I form a large bubble around non-flight capable members of Young Justice, except Superboy as he is collected by Hal- Robin and Artemis. As soon as we did so, Batman directed us towards some place to the north-east. I took a position in the formation next to Wonder Woman, at the end right of the line.

"Tough battle back there, huh? I forgot to ask if you are okay." I start talking to the Amazon, trying to pass the time quicker.

"Good, besides a hurt pride." she replies, going into serious mode again. Turning my attention to the people trapped in a bubble below me, I consider a witty thing to say.

"How are you guys feeling down there? Hopefully, _bubbly_." I cheesily speak the thing that I thought of.

"You really need to stop making jokes, Kyle, you never know when _someone might shut you up_." Artemis shoots back, ruining the joyful aura with her sour mood swings.

"Calm down, Artemis. Besides, we could be walking into our deaths, so we should spend the last of our lives having fun and enjoying each others company." Robin darkly suggests, quite different from his usual optimism. But, I guess that the dark influence coming from Batman can do that to most people.

"That would be great, but for one small thing: I don't enjoy his company." she sasses back.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire. Of course you enjoy my company, because everyone does too. It's fine to say you like me." I tease her further.

"First off: I don't like you and I don't enjoy your company. End. Of. Conversation." she says, literally shattering the cheery mood I was in to pieces.

Silently, our formation presses on without another peep of sound, deep foreboding permeating the cool winds of Bialyia. Robin was deeply right about this being the end of the line, I can feel the coming danger coursing through my bones. Whatever Project Solar Dawn is, the inner depths of my soul is telling me that it's worse than we imagined. And anyone of us could never return from this adventure, much like the ones we read in stories.

The stories of adventurers, fighting to the valiant end to save the world from utter destruction at the hands of some unseen, sinister evil. In those tales of legend, the people who fall against all the odds are remembered as noble sacrifices, ensuring that the ordinary people out there get to have the peace and freedom most take for granted. The people who die for everyone else are written into history as legends; as heroes- a memory of warrior long since passed to where the dead sleep.

And by the powers that have watched over me from day one, shoving countless obstacles in my way to block me, I will happily die before any of my friends become one of these legends. They shouldn't be remembered as the heroes that died, but the protectors that carried on living, no matter the consequences.

"We are approaching the location of the signals." Wonder Woman informs, passing on the message from Batman. "Start descent."

Cautiously lowering to the ground, the ominous image of a desolate castle enters view as we go below the clouds. Landing some distance before the entrance and sharing determined faces, the group of heroes march straight up to the closed wooden gate in an utter silence.

Without the need to communicate, Superman easily pushes off the large gate, revealing the horror that is lurking behind.

Gasps erupt from the members of the Justice League and Young Justice, even Batman makes a comparable sound.

"This is about to get real." Wally voices our thoughts.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **You people guessed it folks, the next chapter is the last.**

 **Question for all of you people: Which is better Young Justice, or Green Lantern the animated series?**


	30. In Blackest Night

**A/N**

 **Welcome back to the grand finale, and I hope you all enjoy the things I have lined up for you in the future, my , I have begun reading the New 52 Nightwing comics and they are actually confusing at times. Not the best, at least up to where I am at- Issue 17. Superboy/Young Justice is next on my hit list!**

 **9,450 views! 78 Reviews! 35 followers and 28 favouritors!**

 **Reviews**

 **MoustachedCat: Nope, not at all. Green Lantern was a great show and I advise that you should watch it. I'm glad (kind of) that you are on edge for the final chapter, as it does tell me that I'm doing my job properly.**

 **Elvisfonz23: Cheers for the review, old pal. It really cheered me up when I looked through it. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Guest 1: I didn't really intend to reference LoT, but maybe the show did influence the choice of words subconsciously. You get friend points for watching Legends of Tommorow. MILD SPOILERS: What do you think has happened with Mick?**

 **Guest 2: Thanks for the kind words! I'm sorry that this took longer to bring out, but I was trying to perfect it as much as possible.**

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 **Chapter 30: In Blackest Night**

 **Kyle Rayner's POV- Bialyia**

Well... I'm afraid to have to say it, but here it comes anyway: this really puts the proverbial icing on the proverbial cake. If things were confusing, weird and stressful before, it is most definitely bewildering, bizarre and overall heart destroying at this moment in time. Mind-boggling and over the top and beyond; two phrases that only mildly describe the weirdness unfolding in front of my concentrated eyes. Although, with all the witchy-woo happening over the past few months, nothing would surprise me... except for _this_.

Earth has become such a confusing place for hero and villain alike, that surprise is nothing to you. In a world full of magic, aliens capable of destroying entire solar systems and people wearing rings that allow them to do incredible things, nobody can define what the true meaning of normal is. Is it the life of a civilian? Whose every waking minute is plagued by the constant war between good and evil?

And yet, even the darkest of days will inevitably end and the gleaming sun will rise over everyone, bringing with it the age of peace and prosperity. As long as a select few are willing to sacrifice everything to hold on to the hope of a saving grace, evil has no power.

That's what makes the Justice League so inspiring and full of hope. Every last member gives it all on a daily basis;not for a pat on the back, but to see the hope welling in children's eyes.

Swiftly glancing to the left, everyone's face remains in a state of shock. Even the Flash's rapid brain hasn't processed the madness.

"What's the matter with all of you, guys? Has my _handsomeness_ got your tongue?" looking back to the chaotic sight, my eyes narrow on the person that spoke. The thing that's so unnaturally strange is that I'm actually staring at... me... wearing... guy-liner? "I wouldn't be surprised- divine light radiates from this face."

"Clones." our Superboy breaks the trance that the others had fixed themselves into, hands clenched and face tensed.

Mockingly, their Wally points at Conner with mock horror. "Clone!" it theatrically shouts, bursting out laughing afterwards.

"Evil me is such a douchebag. What did the researchers do to mess me up this bad?" our Kid Flash incredulously shakes his head, horrified.

"Quite the contrary, 'heroes'" Lex Luthor lands in front us, wearing some sort of armour over himself. "I improved the future protectors to what they need to be. Once the originals are destroyed and the Justice League is gone, humanity will receive the heroes that it deserves."

"Luthor. I should have known you would be behind this from the start." Superman glares, showing a rare glimpse of contempt from the Man of Steel.

"Nice to meet you as well, _alien_. Long time no see, I presume." he shoots back, earning evil chuckles from the clones behind him.

"Really, baldy? You think that clones of us can beat us all?" Artemis snorts, dangerously close to jinxing it.

"Oh believe me, I don't underestimate any of you one bit." Luthor smirks, signalling that shizzle is about to break out. With that sentence, several of the most powerful villains ever drops down from the sky, appearing out of a portal directly above. Landing next to Luthor with smiles upon their faces are the horn boy, Mammoth, Parasite, Vandall Savage, Black Manta, and beside him is Aqualad.

"Come closer, Kaldur. I want to see your face clear as day when I knock you out." Artemis threatens, voicing the thoughts we are all sharing. Of all the potential people to betray us, how can he be the one. In the darkest of moments, he was there alongside us, inspiring us to go on. Now, I can't help but believe it was all an act.

"I'm sorry, Artemis, but I can't let you do that. Out of family or duty, I had to choose my father." he answers, retaining the monotonous tone we all accossiated him with. Not a shred of regret or sorrow flashes across his face as he unveils his true identity, and it's infuriating.

"We were your family!" Robin yells, only being restrained by as strong arm from Batman. "Are you telling me... that for all these years... it was a lie?"

"We don't need to know the answer. Either way, he's going to get what's coming to him." our Conner snarls, staring directly at Kaldur with fire in his eyes. From here, I can taste the pure, primal fury radiating from the friendly clone and for once, I agree with him all the way.

Not answering and instead stepping back, forming a line with our evil counterparts, it looks too much like how we used to be; together, we faced down any threat that dared to stand against us, but now... he's doing it against us in defiance. "Times are tough. You have to decide if the side you are on is for the best." he eventually says.

"Cool your anger, Superboy." Wonder Woman commands, utilising a battle stance. "And direct it these evil betrayers."

Peering down the, judging how I should be reacting, the rest of Young Justice and the Justice League is similar- ready and willing to face down the foes. Truly, this is the end that I marked down as a worst case scenario. With determination on both sides of the law, someone will pay the price.

"Ohh, look at how distraught they are. Friendships are such fickle things, aren't they?" the magical boy tutts. "You never know when the bond withers away and dies, forever lost to each other's undying hatred. I could almost cry, but no one wants to see that."

"Can't decide if that statement is a joke or real." Flash speaks out loud. "Not sure which creeps me out more." he adds on.

"Enough of the small talk, Luthor. Are you going to surrender or not?" Hal ends the conversation on a sour note, pushing for the conclusion.

"Why should we surrender ourself, Green Lantern? You are hopelessly outmatched and outgunned. Although you can't see it at the moment, I have made... improvments to the original templates you have at your side. A Mark Two Superboy against your Mark One. Genetically enhanced Robin versus a standard one. Plus, my friends here would already take you down, anyway." Lex Luthor cooly smiles, with an unmistakable air of arrogance around him.

"After all that we've been through, nothing is going to stop us. Not you, not your friends and not your twisted versions of us." Miss Martian brazenly states, showing a side to her that we never imagined would exist in the darkest of hours.

"How could you possibly hope to defeat your better halves, let alone the plethora of other things?" Lex raises an eyebrow, intriuged.

The ugly mess named Parasite sighs. "I'm starting to get hungry, Luthor. Do not test my patience any longer."

"We may be less powerful than the... uh... other us, but we have something that means we always walk out as the victor." I speak up. "Something that you, or anybody else that thinks they are superior, can never replace with inventions and powerful armour. Something that entire worlds fight over, yet only a select few have."

"Oh, and what might that be?" Luthor asks, unfazed.

Looking to the other determined faces meeting mine, I utter the words that will spark the battle to end all battles. "Courage," I whisper, loud enough that the rest can hear.

"For Justice!" Superman lets out a war cry, immediately throwing himself at his armoured arch nemesis, sending them both into the mountain behind the ruined castle with a loud crash. _I guess... that was our cue,_ I assume, selecting my target amongst the Young Justice clones. Also, I'm guessing that the JL is taking down Luthor's gang, leaving the responsibiliity of handling 'Project Solar Dawn' to us. We should know ways to beat us, right?

Out of us all, I guess that fighting ourselves is the best option. Less chance of confusion that way. _Damn, just noticed that they are similar clothes. Although, there is a slight difference._ For my duplicate, his body is wrapped in just golden yellow, making it easier on me. Artemis and Robin- the cloned ones- are wearing darker coloured versions of their own costumes. Miss M two has pretty much the same outfit on, and Conner Mark Two has a white solar suit on. Still, Wally's twin has a silver suit on instead of yellow. _Okay, it isn't too bad._

Out of nowhere a blue hammer smashes into my face, knocking me to the ground a few feet backwards. The recipient of the attack- the traitor, Kaldur- along with evil me approach me, calmly strolling towards me, currently on the ground and thinking of a construct to get out of this mess.

Targeting Kaldur with my rage ring, I unleash an Indiana Jones style boulder at him. Right at the last second before it barrels into him, he dodges by rolling to the side. Smirking, I simply make the ball swerve to the right, rolling over him in a comical fashion.

Having bought myself precious few moments, I adopt the age-old strategy of divide and conquer. Soaring into the air upwards, the faint swooshing informs me that the clone is on my tail. Unluckily for him, I've been trained by the experienced Kilowog in the art of combat flying, something that being born in a test tube doesn't provide.

Dodging energy blasts sent from directly below me, I perform an Immelman maneuver as you would in an aircraft. Now facing the oncoming traffic so to speak, a large, crimson hammer suddenly appears in my hands, which I use to crash into the follower with an almighty bang. Following as the clone soars back to the earth, I continue unleashing blow after blow on the clone, satisfied by the groans with each hit. Letting off one last smash, his body crashes into the ground in the middle of the action, kicking up a dust cloud. Once the dust cleared, the prone body of the clone lies in a sizabe, deep crater.

Allowing me to sit back and search for anyone that needs instant support, I notice how Black Manta and Mammoth have already been dealt with, unsuprisingly leaving the weird boy and Parasite left to beat, both of whom seem to be holding their own against the founding members. However, Miss Martian appears to be struggling against her counterpart... or is it the other way around? I cannot tell which, so... I'm thoroughly confused.

"M'gann! Which one are you!?" I yell, hovering close by the action, ready to pounce.

"It's me!" one of them shouts, continuing to struggle with the other, extra limbs battling it out in arm wrestling style.

"Don't trust her, it's me!" the other also shouts at me, fairly bemusing me further. _Come on, real M'gann, give me something to go on._

As though hearing my thoughts, one of the two looks straight at me with resignation upon her face. Suddenly, her form changes until she takes the shape of a White Martian. _Brave enough to reveal herself- that's our friend, all right._

Launching rage blasts at the unchanged M'gann, she changes to avoid the energy, bending inwards to avoid the ones straying to the outside and making holes for the few directed towards the chest. However, the real M'gann takes advantage and seizes the upper hand, grappling with the fake roughly.

Before I could react, a heavy body lands across my chest, bringing me to the ground in a heap. The furious figure of Conner gets off me, clutching his ribs. From here, the body language all points towards the real version (as real as a clone can be)- angry, getting angrier and heaving with rage.

"You okay, buddy?" I ask. "Nice of you to pop by."

"I can't beat the other me. Somehow, he's stronger than me. Really stronger." he answers. Sinisterly, said other clone floats above us ominously, faint sparks of red coming from his fingertips.

"Plan B, then. I get this guy and you get Aqualad." I say. Reluctantly, Conner nods and jumps away. "It's just me and you now, pal." I taunt the flying clone.

"A ring user... too easy for me." he replies. In the blink of an eye, his face is practically touching mine. "Shall we?"

"Let's dance!"

 **Richard Grayson/Robin's POV**

Sloppy, evil Robin down with several broken bones, I join the fight against Artemis. The two trade arrows and blows simultaneously, both within a millimetre of hitting their targets. Palming a shock disk, I catch the evil Artemis by surprise, causing her to drop down convulsing with the electrical current flowing down her body. Badly bruised from my fight, I couldn't risk engaging in close combat, despite both Artemis' obvious discomfort and shallow cuts.

"Glad you could lend a hand. She was starting to overmatch me." Artemis huffs, her breathing laboured. Scanning the battlefield, the Justice League has somehow found a way to defeat their share of the foes, with Superman dropping Lex Luthor's unconscious body with Parasite's. However, the boy is nowhere to be seen.

M'gann and Wally have completed their battles, both are sore sights, adorned with cuts and bruises more severe than any we possess.

Crashing into the ground and having Superboy two landing on him with two feet down is Kyle, grunting with the impact. Trapping the Superboy clone with a lasso, he shapes his hand into a golden mace and punches his enemy in the face, who is sent catapulting backwards into the keep of the castle. "Wooo!" he screams into the air. "That boy sure is powerful."

"And so am I!" suddenly, a bright blue sword pierces through an exposed piece in Kyle's armour. Stood, Kyle lets out a pained cry.

All time seems to halt. Memories of joy, friendship and good moments flash before my eyes. Time slows down, every second lasting an eternity. People shout Kyle's name. Aqualad gets pulled through a portal with a smirk on his face. YJ and JL rush to our comrade.

As fast as it slowed down, it returns to normal. Kyle falls to the ground, eyes fixed forwards, never blinking.

"Kyle!" Artemis gasps, hurrying over along with the rest of the team.

But... fate has already chosen our friend's path. One by one, his rings take off in a sombre exit. The words everyone dreaded speak out.

"Sinestro Corp Lantern of Sector 2814... deceased."

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 **A/N**

 **This is it folks- the end of a story I so desperately wanted to tell. The end of a story of redemption, comradery and the never ending search for purpose.**

 **Taking this back a notch, I want to say that I am deeply humbled by the endless support recieved from you people. Nearly 10, 000 views; the greatest amount I have ever recieved in any story that I have done so far.**

 **If you are reading this, don't be mad, please. And, check out the timetable I will be posting on my profile. It will tell you when I will be updating each week and the one after.**


	31. Author Note

The sequel and Man of Prime are UP!

Go check them out and pop a review!


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